Medical AM
The medical additive manufacturing sector – which is starting now to include some areas of bioprinting – is today one of the largest adopters of 3D printing technologies for the production of consumer-targeted, end-use items, including prosthetics and orthotics, implants, devices and physical models.
In this month’s AM Focus on medical additive manufacturing, we are also going to focus specifically on the Dental Additive Manufacturing segment, which is a key area for the use of additive manufacturing across healthcare industries, in terms of hardware sales, material sales (especially – but not limited to – photopolymers) and numbers of parts produced (including models, dental trays, surgical guides, temporaries, crowns and implants).
We are going to hear from some of the large companies and innovative startups that have taken the possibilities offered by AM in various healthcare fields to new heights and built this sector into what can already be described as a multi-billion dollar opportunity.
The use of 3D printing technologies extends well beyond 3D printed implants. Surgical guides and pre-surgical models are widespread, so much so that they can, in a way, be compared to the broad adoption of AM for prototyping and tooling in the industrial manufacturing arena.
Leading AM hardware manufacturers, such as 3D Systems, EnvisionTEC, EOS and SLM Solutions, along with leading global service providers like Oerlikon, Jabil and Materialise, are investing heavily to develop both medical and dental AM applications. Medical product powerhouses like Stryker, DePuy Synthes, Zimmer Biomet (these two merged in 2015), and Smith & Nephew, are conducting R&D with AM for a range of innovative devices. Stryker was among the earliest adopters along with medium size international firm Lima Corporate.
The list of orthopedic contract manufacturers offering AM production services today is growing rapidly, with 3dpbm’s Index listing nearly 50 manufacturers of varying sizes. Some of these companies have been utilizing AM in a significant manner for more than a decade and are beginning to look beyond just the design and production of existing implant types in titanium using additive manufacturing.
While the benefits of AM technologies for personalized medicine and more efficient surgical practices are well documented, several hurdles still exist that are limiting a more widespread adoption of these key technologies in hospitals and medical practices. Several of these hurdles are inherent to AM technologies and related material availability, however, the biggest challenges result from a general lack of awareness and skepticism, resulting in a slow pace of adoption.
Today, significant strides are being taken—mainly in the private segment—toward the development of advanced polymers, metals and ceramics fit for implantation in humans. The private dental segment is going through a full-size boom in the adoption of AM technologies and processes. With this month’s AM Focus we hone in on the latest advancements and take a look at the upcoming opportunities for medical AM.
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3D Systems introduces new dental materials and printing platform
3D Systems has further expanded its digital dentistry portfolio with the release of new materials (NextDent Base and NextDent Cast) and a new printing platform (the NextDent LCD1) – helping…
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VoxelMatters Medical VM Focus 2023 eBook
The medical sector is driven by innovation and a mission to improve patient care. Given that, it makes perfect sense that it has been an enthusiastic adopter of additive manufacturing…
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Paragon Medical expands AM offering with 3D Systems partnership
Paragon Medical, a global medical device manufacturer, has further expanded its additive manufacturing capabilities through a partnership with 3D Systems. The partnership leverages the historical expertise and capabilities of both…
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Scientists 3D print using sound waves
Scientists from the Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems Lab at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research and the Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering, and Advanced Materials at Heidelberg University…
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UNSW researchers develop device capable of 3D printing living cells onto internal organs
Engineers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, have developed a miniature and flexible soft robotic arm that could be used to 3D print biomaterial directly onto organs…
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Stratasys to provide print-on-demand medical models to Ricoh USA
Stratasys has signed an agreement with Ricoh USA, Inc. to provide on-demand 3D printed anatomic models for clinical settings. Stratasys’ Patient-Specific 3D Solutions combines 3D printing technology from Stratasys, the…
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MIT researchers 3D print heart replicas that pump like real ones
A team of engineers from MIT has developed a new way to create realistic models of human hearts that can help doctors plan and test treatments for various cardiac conditions,…
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Voxel Printing the greatest special effect
Those who eat, sleep and dream 3D printing know that one of the most fascinating aspects of this new way of manufacturing is that it can span across segments, blending…