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Entries in medical (21)

Thursday

Jul222010

Objet Organizes a Dental System

Thursday, July 22, 2010 |

3D printer manufacturer Objet has joined dental scanning provider 3Shape to create an integrated workflow solution specifically for dental restorations. The solution links 3D models produced by 3Shape's dentist-focused scanning equipment and software directly into Objet's Eden 3D printers. According to Avi Cohen, Head of Medical Solutions at Objet Geometries, the solution:

includes special optimizations to insure that components designed in 3Shapes’s CAD software will always print reliably and accurately using Objet’s additive manufacturing methods and techniques.

The solution involves linking three stages:

3D scanning of impressions and CAD-Design using 3Shape Dental System
CAM preparation with 3Shape CAMbridge
Final manufacturing and production on Objet Eden 3D Printers

This integrated solution reveals one of the problems with 3D printing today: a 3D printer by itself is not particularly thrilling, but the magic occurs when you link it with interesting sources of data and models. Typically the linking process is awkward and achievable only by techies, but solutions such as this from Objet remove that barrier and ensure the technology will be used by a wider audience.

The new system will greatly increase the speed of restoration operations and perhaps be more cost efficient as well.

Eventually we'll see what Objet calls "Full Digital Dental Labs", where the entire process becomes digitized. The old days of waiting for a week or more for an external service to produce restorations will gradually fade away.

Via Objet and 3Shape (Hat tip to Rachael)

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Sunday

Jul112010

Print Some Legs and Make Them Whole Again

Sunday, July 11, 2010 |

One of the most interesting applications of 3D printing is medical uses. We've written about many different medical applications, ranging from printed tissue, to replacement bones. Today we ran across Alison Lewis's wonderful post describing her experience encountering custom printed prosthetics for amputees.

The procedure was to scan the patient's surviving leg and through the magic of 3D modelling, reverse its orientation to produce a perfectly symmetrical opposite leg. Printing the model yields a leg that fits. According to Lewis:

… for me, what is amazing is the transformative effects of this technology on the mind and body of the wearer. By scanning the other leg and printing out an almost exact replica, the prosthetic restores body symmetry. This visual symmetry improves the amputee’s sense of self.

Imagine, if you will, the wind blowing on an amputee’s legs today while he/she is wearing pants. It would be obvious which leg is the fake one; however, with this new 3D printed method, the legs would ideally be the same size, shape, and width. The new legs also allows the person to wear the same size shoes on both feet. Think about what a difference this makes on a person's self esteem and personal identity.

That's the magic of 3D technology.

Via iHeartSwitch

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Saturday

Jun052010

EOS Focuses on Medical Applications

Saturday, June 5, 2010 |

Commercial Laser Sintering giant EOS has been focusing on the medical market recently, using their SLS expertise to produce a variety of solutions.

EOS uses several plastic approaches, including laser-sintered nylon for "disposable, customized operating devices such as drill guides for knee and hip replacements". They're also developing "PEEK HP3", which is a "a high-temperature, high-performance thermoplastic" that is biocompatible and sterilizable.

EOS also produces direct metal laser sintering to create such items as:

Stainless-steel prototypes for customized spinal surgical instruments
Cobalt chrome replacement knee joint prototypes, and end-product dental copings and bridges
Titanium dental implants with porous surfaces that promote osteointegration

Via EOS

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Saturday

May292010

3D Bone Puzzle: Solved

Saturday, May 29, 2010 |

There's some interesting work taking place at the British Royal Infirmary, where 3D technology is being used to improve the process of rebuilding highly complex joint fractures.

These complex fractures are very difficult to repair due to the myriad of tiny pieces that must be precisely placed back in their original locations in order to successfully heal. Traditional approaches involved lengthy and invasive surgery to find and reposition the broken bits.

Now the new approach is to capture 3d broken bone data from a CAT scan and then apply complex mathematical algorithms to simulate the reconstruction - thus discovering the optimal displacements and rotations for each piece. They hope to devise a "minimally invasive surgical robot" to perform the actual reconstruction, under the direction of a certified surgeon, of course.

Via HealthCanal

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Friday

Apr092010

3D Printing Aids Biohacking

Friday, April 9, 2010 |

These days people are fiddling with anything that can be made digital, and one of the more interesting digitizations recently is biology! DNA, those tiny molecular strands that define us all, are increasingly being investigated by, well, hackers. BBC News reports on this phenomenon, which has grown recently aided by technological developments.

The idea is to manipulate DNA by cutting and pasting different genetic instructions together. This can be done by isolating DNA, splicing and joining strands together and other mechanical techniques. DNA strands can be found within other organisms or even purchased from online DNA distributors.

But home biohacking will require equipment, software and processes. These are all being developed based on existing technology, including 3D printing. BBC reports Irish postgrad Cathal Garvey produced a kitchen centrifuge design based on the popular Dremel power tool, suitable for 3D printing. The centrifuge design has been loaded to Shapeways, where anyone can quickly order one.

We can imagine entire biohacking kits being manufactured in the same way that Ponoko is manufacturing MakerBot 3D printers.

Via BBC and Shapeways

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Sunday

Mar282010

3Shape Focuses on Dentistry

Sunday, March 28, 2010 |

The most popular software these days is that designed with the user in mind, where all aspects of the software are focused on delivering the function required by the user. When people see such software, they immediately resonate with it and are more likely to use it. There are countless examples of this effect.

But has this approach been properly used in 3D printing yet? Quite often we see hardware of a very general nature, leaving the function completely up to the users themselves. Similarly, we often see 3D print service bureaus offering very generic services - which are indeed useful for many people, but won't deeply attract specific markets.

One successful 3D example of this approach is 3Shape, a company dedicated to producing advanced 3D dental equipment. Their main 3D product is the D700 3D scanner, a device specifically designed for dental scanning. The form, fit and associated software make it very easy for their users and it's made them successful.

We're wondering whether it makes sense to produce 3D printers with more focus on particular types of printing, instead of the generic 3D printers of today. Yes, there are printers dedicated to specific materials, such as metal, but what about customer usage? Would there be a difference between a 3D printer optimized for figurine makers versus one optimized for medical use? We think so. Do the manufacturers?

Via 3Shape

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Wednesday

Mar102010

Changing Prosthetics Forever

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 |

Daniel Terdiman of CNET news writes a long article describing how 3D printing is "changing prosthetics forever". We've written several articles in this area over the past two years, and now it's become visible in CNET.

Terdiman explains how the combination of amputee soldiers' needs, 3D scanning, 3D printing and individual manufacturing have opened up this field.

Your limbs and other body parts are only yours. They are unique and replicas cannot be found in any mass produced factory. But 3D scanning allows us to capture the precise structure of the limb, either before the incident or by mirroring a surviving limb. 3D printing can then create a physical replica or prosthesis that is an exact fit for each and every amputee.

Is prosthetic usage the "peak" of 3D printing today? Perhaps, but we suspect there's many more astonishing uses we haven't yet discovered.

Via CNET

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Sunday

Jan172010

Dental Scanning

Sunday, January 17, 2010 |

We've all been to the dentist (you have gone, haven't you?) and from time to time we need to get replacement teeth or portions thereof. The dentist makes you bite into rubber or plastic moulds to capture the 3D shape of the required parts and then sends it off for custom manufacturing. But Is there a different way to do this?

GKS 3D Scanning has an interesting article describing their experience in this area. Here's some of their unique applications:

The "bite mould" can be laser-scanned to produce a highly accurate 3D model of the required tooth. The 3D model can then be produced on a variety of equipment using different print media. (We strongly recommend staying away from Shapeways Bronze for this application!)
Orthodontics can benefit from repeated laser scans that can detail the progress of tooth movement throughout the use of braces and retainers.
Toothbrush design can be optimized by 3D scanning many sets of teeth to produce the "average" mouth size and shape.
Digital storage of patient's mouth scans take up far less space in the office than the traditional plaster casts.
Archival 3D casts of your teeth provide a model for future repairs when you've lost some of your teeth in a barroom dispute, or simply from nervous tooth-grinding. Just scan again and 3D print the difference.

These ideas and much more can be seen at GKS's website.

Via GKS 3D Laser Scanning

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