Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Apr;12(2):365-371.
doi: 10.4184/asj.2018.12.2.365. Epub 2018 Apr 16.

Emergence of Three-Dimensional Printing Technology and Its Utility in Spine Surgery

Akshay Gadia  1 , Kunal Shah  2 , Abhay Nene  1
Affiliations
Review

Emergence of Three-Dimensional Printing Technology and Its Utility in Spine Surgery

Akshay Gadia et al. Asian Spine J. 2018 Apr.

Abstract

In the last decade, spine surgery has advanced tremendously. Tissue engineering and three-dimensional (3D) printing/additive manufacturing have provided promising new research avenues in the fields of medicine and orthopedics in recent literature, and their emergent role in spine surgery is encouraging. We reviewed recent articles that highlighted the role of 3D printing in medicine, orthopedics, and spine surgery and summarized the utility of 3D printing. 3D printing has shown promising results in various aspects of spine surgery and can be a useful tool for spine surgeons. The growing research on tissue bioengineering and its application in conjunction with additive manufacturing has revealed great potential for tissue bioengineering in the treatment of spinal ailments.

Keywords: Computer-aided designing; Orthopedics; Spine surgery; Three-dimensional printing.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Use of three-dimensional-printed polyurethane drill guide for inserting pedicle screws.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Use of three-dimensional-printed polyurethane drill guide for inserting pedicle screws in a revision deformity correction case.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Use of three-dimensional (3D)-printed models for planning complicated surgery of atlantoaxial dislocation with anomalous vertebral artery. (A, B) 3D reconstruction of native anatomy using axial computed tomography images. (C, D) 3D reconstruction of native anatomy with anomalous vertebral artery. (E) Proxy surgery performed on the 3D-printed model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Michalski MH, Ross JS. The shape of things to come: 3D printing in medicine. JAMA. 2014;312:2213–2214. - PubMed
    1. Wohlers TT. Wohlers report 2008: state of the industry: annual worldwide progress report. Fort Collins (CO): Wohlers Associates; 2008.
    1. Rengier F, Mehndiratta A, von Tengg-Kobligk H, et al. 3D printing based on imaging data: review of medical applications. Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg. 2010;5:335–341. - PubMed
    1. Sun W, Starly B, Nam J, Darling A. Bio-CAD modeling and its applications in computer-aided tissue engineering. Comput Aided Des. 2005;37:1097–1104.
    1. Hoy MB. 3D printing: making things at the library. Med Ref Serv Q. 2013;32:94–99. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources