Educational: How 3D Printing Can Assist You in Healthcare

3D printing, also called additive manufacturing is a new technology in current manufacturing industries. It has been applied in many fields to replace the traditional manufacturing method. In current stage, it is capturing attention in the healthcare field due to its potential to improve treatment for certain medical conditions. 

For example, a doctor required to perform a surgery near cardiac, one could scan the upper body of the patient and print out the specific region and planned well through the model before the surgery started. This would increase the success rate of the surgery.

And it is not only limited to this field, some other application in medical field is that it can be used to print out prosthesis using PEEK materials which is currently one of the most common material in market which has great resistance to corrosion of acid, heat and etcetera. According to the research done by HEC and other research laboratories, it can be used to replace the titanium alloy as it has similar modulus to the bone, and it is biodegradable, and also bio-compatible with the human body. Normally, to produce a perfect prothesis, it usually takes an average of 2-3 design iterations before the design is completed, with the help of 3D printing, we can simply create personalized designs in a shorter and more cost-effective time frame.

3D printing technology is also widely used in surgical guides Surgical guides are used in medical classrooms, preoperative aids, and human implants, and required a high level of customization to suit everyone’s body shape and contour

Through 3D printing, these guide plates can now be produced efficiently and at a lower cost compare to the traditional manufacturing methods. And since each patient needs to be uniquely customized for each implant, the application of 3D  printing technology can be common in dentistry and surgery.