Medical Applications for 3D Printing: Recent Developments

Abstract

This is a review of some of the recent developments in the application of 3D printing to medicine. The topic is introduced with a brief explanation as to how and why 3D is changing practice, teaching, and research in medicine. Then, taking recent examples of progress in the field, we illustrate the current state of the art. This article concludes by evaluating the current limitations of 3D printing for medical applications and suggesting where further progress is likely to be made.

Figure 1.

Flowchart of creating a 3D printed model of congenital heart defects from CT scan data.

Figure 2.

3D printed skull and mold (D,F) from high resolution CT scan data (C,E) using the fused deposition modelling method.

Figure 3.

Anatomically accurate 3-D printed brain model.

Figure 4.

Growth of algae within the impregnated hydrogel at 1, 6 and 12 days.

Figure 5.

The bioprinting of an aortic valve conduit. (A) Computer model, (B) Printing a layer of SMC, (C) Printing a layer of VIC, (D) Flourescent image of first two layers, (E) The resulting aortic valve conduit as printed.

Figure 6.

Cube, pyramid, cylinder, sphere and torus paracetamol tablets fabricated by Goyanes et al.