3D Printing of Medical Devices

Overview

3D printing is a type of additive manufacturing. There are several types of additive manufacturing, but the terms 3D printing and additive manufacturing are often used interchangeably. Here we will refer to both as 3D printing for simplicity.

3D printing is a process that creates a three-dimensional object by building successive layers of raw material. Each new layer is attached to the previous one until the object is complete. Objects are produced from a digital 3D file, such as a computer-aided design (CAD) drawing or a Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI).

The flexibility of 3D printing allows designers to make changes easily without the need to set up additional equipment or tools. It also enables manufacturers to create devices matched to a patient’s anatomy (patient-specific devices) or devices with very complex internal structures. These capabilities have sparked huge interest in 3D printing of medical devices and other products, including food, household items, and automotive parts.

3D printed (left to right, top) models of a brain, blood vessel, surgical guide, and (bottom) medallion printed

Medical devices produced by 3D printing include orthopedic and cranial implants, surgical instruments, dental restorations such as crowns, and external prosthetics.

Now bone implants can be 3D printed

Technology to help prevent multiple joint replacement surgeries

More than 2.9 million people in the world every year opt for joint replacements. These surgeries see doctors place non-biological materials placed including metals and ceramic being placed in people’s bodies. These artificial body parts eventually disintegrate and leave the patient in need of another or similar surgery. But Epibone, a US-based company, might have found a solution to this.

It has introduced a technology that develops bones using stem cells. “What we’re doing that’s really different than others is that we’re actually able to combine 3D printing with living cells.

The technology involves taking a CT scan (to provide anatomically precise scaffold and 3D culture system) for dimensions that are used to design mould or scaffolding using 3D printing technology. Later, the scientists extract a sample of fat tissue from the patient’s body that is a source of stem cells. The extracted stem cells are then infused into the scaffold. Together the scaffold and the stem cell is incubated in a bioreactor.

This bioreactor mimics the condition of the human body. It maintains the right temperature, oxygen, pH and nutrients. The stem cells then attach to the scaffold, multiply and start forming into osteoblast (a cell that secretes the substance of bone). This remodels the scaffold into a living bone.

In three weeks the required piece of tissue is ready for implantation. When they tested these bones on pigs and other animals, they found that epibone and the host tissue grow seamlessly, together vascularise and become indistinguishable from one another.

Epibone creates living skeletal implants, including bone, cartilage and osteochondral (cartilage under the bone). The company now plans to start human trials that will take another five years....