The beginning of March, 2013 witnessed radical surgery being performed on some patient for replacement of skull. The best part about this surgery was 3D printing application for development of implants.
Responsibility was provided to an organisation for designing the implant with some special substance known by the name polyetherketoneketone thermoplastic. This is a bone like material and is biocompatible where interference with x-ray is completely avoided. After carrying out the required task of scanning, tailor made implant was brought into existence with some 3D printer. Layer after layer it was generated so that the exact details can be maintained and cell growth and bone attachment happened with ease.
After the scan submission, the turnaround time is more or less two weeks. CEO of the organisation which was responsible for this entire operation commented on the advantages of this technology. According to him, this is a disruptive and transformative technology platform which has the capability to bring a lot of changes to orthopaedic industry. More and more patients are expected to begin their lives on a new note thanks to 3D printing.
The use of this technology proves efficient as the cost involved is quite low as compared to other procedures. Along with that comes the benefit of customized implants developed as per the specific measurements of a patient. This technology has come a long way since its inception quite a few years ago. It is achieving new feats on a constant basis and expected to come up with more innovation in future.
Picture credit: http://www.oxfordpm.com/biomedical_parts.html Oxford Performance Materials