Since the dawn of time, humans have used natural materials to fix and heal damage sustained to the body. Dating back to Ancient Egypt, mummies were exhumed with artificial parts—from eyes to noses. Fast-forward to today, and technology has advanced to levels unfathomable to those previously pioneering bioengineering. From the most preliminary orthopedic implants to highly developed lab-produced biomimetic materials, biomedical engineering is breaking the boundaries of medical miracles.
Amid the avid advancements accentuating the industry, 3D printing of prosthetics and even entire organs is revolutionizing how medical professionals approach neuro, cardiac, and maxillofacial surgeries and tissue production. Through a combination of physical, chemical, computer, and mathematical analysis, healthcare practitioners can deepen their understanding of how the human body functions. The question is: What future awaits the medical field in the wake of this technological innovation?
The Potential of 3D Printing in Healthcare
3D printing, or additive manufacturing, has transformed the way industries operate—and the healthcare sector is one of many exemplifying its powerful potential. By tapping into this unique biomechanical and device development approach, medical professionals can proficiently improve patient outcomes and quality of life.
This process involves creating medical structures through computer-aided design (CAD) to translate image data from anatomical scans. By sending a digital model of a patient’s medical imaging to a 3D printer, bioengineers are able to develop complex geometries and anatomical structures—while decreasing patient wait times and boosting surgical accuracy. For example, 3D printing can create surgical instruments and guides to punctuate this advantage, such as helping a surgeon drill a hole during spinal surgery more precisely.
One of the major factors in embracing 3D printing in bioengineering is that medical additive manufacturing opens the door to design freedom. Additionally, this approach produces significantly less waste, empowering companies to create high-value medical products free from compliance risk. Unlike traditional techniques, 3D printing offers the comfort of customizable capabilities more quickly and efficiently—sans expensive hardware.
The Prospects of 3D Printed Prosthetics
As 3D printing brings an entirely new meaning to custom fit, medical professionals are embracing a new age of prostheses. While conventional prosthetists cater to custom devices with standard materials, some physical activities require the extra mile, such as end-limb adapters. This is where the magic of 3D printing sparks ingenuity.
Through the precision of its scan-to-print process, additive manufacturing offers the opportunity to swiftly make necessary and dynamic adjustments that align with unique patient needs. For example, manufacturers can make sockets more stiff when needed while simultaneously including more flexible structures. This is a particularly significant development for children who require prosthetics, as these patients’ devices will need to be routinely altered along with the child’s growth.
This approach also provides elevated levels of patient comfortability for longer periods by enabling manufacturers to create lighter designs. As the materials needed for this process account for over 40% of the costs, going the lightweight route unlocks significant cost savings. In the same light, 3D-printed prosthetics streamline manufacturing operations by eliminating manual steps and bridging the gap between product and patient.
Putting the Pedal to the Metal in Cancer Treatment
Future-forward efforts in 3D printing for healthcare have led to the remarkable development of titanium bone implants. An Australian-based company, CSIRO, was able to recreate a perforated titanium iteration of a portion of a cancer patient’s rib cage and sternum—which had been removed due to a chest wall sarcoma. A team of engineers at Anatomics used CT scans of the patient’s chest to print a highly customized design that catered to the extensive reconstruction.
This aspect of additive manufacturing was particularly beneficial as chest implants are notoriously difficult to produce due to their innate interconnectedness, required range of motion, and long-term fixation. Additionally, the high capability for tailoring the design enabled manufacturers to heed aesthetic requirements that allowed the implant to protect the thoracic organs and support lung functionality.
The Trajectory of Bioengineered Tissues
The profound possibilities of additive manufacturing in the medical field cannot be understated—as exemplified by the proliferation of 3D bioprinting. This process involves using bioinks to print living cells and develop structures layer-by-layer—mirroring the natural behavior of living tissue. These bioinks are created through natural or synthetic biomaterials, such as hydrogels or polyglycolide, integrated with living cells. By using a patient’s own cells, there is great potential to eliminate the need for donors, while reducing the risk of rejection. This approach also enables researchers to study human bodily functions in vitro and empowers them to propel pharmaceutical development and drug validation.
Similarly, bioengineers are zoning in on the use of 3D bioprinting for tissue regeneration and reconstruction, which represents a paradigm shift in the field. As the largest organ of the human body, skin is highly susceptible to injury and requires a delicate touch in terms of repair. For example, extensive burns cause significant trauma to the skin that requires surgical excision and reconstruction—as well as skin replacements. While traditional substitutes do not support native skin recapitulation, bioprinting empowers more precise cell type placement and reproducible reconstructions of damaged tissue.
To heal skin wounds, the body undergoes a reaction between cell types, cytokines, mediators, the neurovascular system, and matrix remodeling. Through bioengineering, this process can be significantly bolstered to boost skin repair through re-epidermalization, epidermal-stromal cell interactions, angiogenesis, and scarring inhabitation. During this period, patients are more vulnerable to bacterial infection and hypovolemia due to the loss of a protective barrier. Bioengineered skin substitutes not only take over this function but also simulate the healing process—while propelling it to new heights.
Conclusion
Technological advancements have cleared a path for medical professionals to break the boundaries of how they provide care to patients. From tailor-built prosthetics to lab-grown tissues, bioengineering, and 3D printing empower the healthcare industry to create precisely designed and patient-specific solutions that improve health outcomes and the quality of life as a whole. The potential of additive manufacturing innovation is immense, and tapping into this power has ushered in a new era of more personalized and accessible healthcare solutions—one where medical miracles are an everyday occurrence.
