The Impact of Innovation: 3D Printed Biological Materials in Healthcare
3D printing is also considered Additive Manufacturing in which has been around for 34 years. 3D printing is necessary for three dimensional objectifications and helps to solidify a narrative that carries existing visibilities amongst an innovative methodology that expands along many genres and industries. 3D printing and the collaboration of medical technology has not only caused markets to become cheaper in implementation, but it also has catapulted newly invented ideas to benefit those who have medical conditions that plague them visually and physically. Within Healthcare, 3D printing has allowed burn victims to be able to have skin reconstructed and airway splints to ensure proper breathing patterns for babies who have tiny airways around the lungs, prone to collapsing. The airway splints are especially significant since they are the first 3D implant made for kids and they’re designed to grow with the patient. The medical implant had been successfully tested in three children between the ages of three months and 16 months as of April 2015. The splints can be produced in a matter of hours and they only cost about $10 per unit (Hendricks, 2016).
Sometimes 3D printing solutions can be cost effective in technological advancements because of the process that involves building solid objects from a digital prospective and adding processes that relies on layers of material from the effects of building the 3D desired imagery. 3D printing is distinct from using older ways of manufacturing techniques, which is subject to removal of materials by cutting, drilling and chopping instead of adding more material. This is great because it cuts waste and the extra cost of needing more materials. 3D printing is still a fairly new innovative collaboration with medical technology, but is vastly making its way through the adjustments of connecting components to ensure accuracy in developments. Currently, scientists at Princeton University has used 3D printing tools to create a bionic ear in which can hear radio frequencies beyond the normal range of human hearing and this is done by connecting electronics with tissues to ensure its capabilities. Many other collaborations in 3D printing is a fully functional 3D organ; allowing more lives to be saved in reference to long donor lines and inconsistencies in applicable circumstances.
3D printing has been utilized in facial prostheses, biodegradable implants for bone infections and bone cancer, 3D printed casts is newly implemented to help in the healing process, 3D printed pills also has been developed to encourage a better cost agenda for prescription medicine. Many other developments also include embryonic stem cells, blood vessels and heart tissues, the replacement of cartilage and 3D printing is used in the research of cures for cancer. 3D printing makes medical advancement within technology better in quality and it subjects scientists and researchers to consequently impossible treatments much easier to develop.
Hendricks, D. (2016). 3D Printing Is Already Changing Health Care. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/03/3d-printing-is-already-changing-health-care
Referral MD. (2014). The 7 Biggest Innovations in Health Care Technology in 2014. Retrieved from https://getreferralmd.com/2013/11/health-care-technology-innovations-2013-infographic