Innovative Applications of 3D Printing in Healthcare and Medicine

Implants

The ability to quickly and precisely design and produce customized implants, such as dental, spinal, and hip implants, has significantly advanced 3D printing in medicine. These tailored implants help minimize surgery time, reduce complications, eliminate the need for manually altering standard-sized implants, and decrease the number of invasive bone graft procedures required. As a result, 3D printing in healthcare contributes to faster patient recovery and improved success rates.

Anatomical Replicas

Beyond prosthetics, 3D printing in medicine has enabled the creation of highly realistic anatomical replicas for education, training, and pre-surgery planning. These models closely replicate real organs and are crafted using patient imaging data, allowing practitioners to rehearse complex surgeries in advance. This practice enhances surgical skills, boosts confidence, and reduces the risk of complications, leading to better outcomes. Full-color printing technologies, such as PolyJet 3D printing, can produce life-like replicas with accurate textures and colors.

Organ and Tissue Printing

Bioprinting, a cutting-edge aspect of 3D printing in medicine, has seen significant progress in creating scaffolds that mimic human tissue. Although 3D-printed organs, such as livers and kidneys, are not yet mainstream, ongoing research and technological advancements are paving the way for their future use. These artificial organs have the potential to transform patient care by reducing waiting lists and saving countless lives.

Prosthetics

Customizing 3D-printed prosthetics has revolutionized 3D printing in healthcare, providing life-changing benefits for amputees. These prosthetics, which include arms and legs, are designed to perfectly fit each patient's body, ensuring better comfort and functionality. Traditional prosthetics can be expensive, often costing between $1,500 and $8,000, and require invasive manual adjustments over time. They also have long production times.

In contrast, 3D-printed prosthetics are typically more affordable, have quick production times (sometimes within a day), and require fewer adjustments due to their bespoke nature. This is especially advantageous for children, who frequently outgrow their prosthetics. Additionally, 3D printing offers a more enjoyable process for both children and adults by allowing them to personalize the colors, designs, and styles of their prosthetics.  

Other Applications

3D printing in healthcare has also been employed for producing medical devices and tools customized to individual patients, ensuring greater precision and effectiveness. Additionally, this technology is used for creating personalized medication doses and formulations, which helps mitigate side effects. A notable example is Spritam, an epilepsy drug approved by the U.S. FDA, which was manufactured using 3D printing in medicine. This process improved the drug’s solubility compared to traditional pills.

Photopolymers can consist of monomers, oligomers, polymers or a mixture of these materials. They can easily change their chemical structure once they are exposed to only small amounts of light energy. The materials used in vat photopolymerization consist of multiple properties, which can range from castable, transparent, flexible to tough ones.

RAHN supplies many materials used for dental composites. Depending on the process and product, customised speciality chemicals may be needed to achieve the desired results. For more detailed information on the materials, explore our product guide or get in touch with your local Technical Sales Manager.

The use of photopolymers for advanced drug delivery in medicine

3D printing in medicine is able to produce results with a high resolution and customisation. It opens the door to delivering advanced drug delivery devices through customization instead of mass production. As a result, the term “personalised medicine (PM)” has gained traction in recent years.

The use of photopolymers for medical devices

3D printing in healthcare enables companies to make changes to current designs without setting up expensive tools or equipment. As a result, companies are able to produce drug dosages with complex geometries and compositions, as well as oral delivery systems or drug delivery devices.

Custom 3D printed implants and prosthetics in healthcare

3D printing in healthcare has come a long way and is able to produce patient-specific devices and complex structures. This is especially important for custom implants and prosthetics, which would be expensive to produce with traditional manufacturing methods.

Bioprinting and tissue engineering

Another useful application for 3D printing in healthcare is the manufacturing of complex biological constructs while controlling the smallest details, such as pore size. Potential applications may also treat illnesses such as cancer, tissue loss, or organ failure.

A variety of materials are used for 3D printing in healthcare, each required to meet stringent safety, quality, and performance standards. These materials must be robust, long-lasting, sterilizable, corrosion-resistant, and lightweight to ensure suitability for medical use. While many materials are compatible with 3D printers, only some are safe for 3D printing in medicine.

Below is a list of the most commonly used 3D printing materials in healthcare that meet these rigorous criteria:

• Nylon PA-12
• PC-ISO
• ABS M30i
• Titanium
• Cobalt chrome
• Stainless steel
• Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)
• Polylactic acid (PLA)
• Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)
• Polyetherketoneketone (PEKK)
• Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)
• Bioceramics Polyethylene glycol (PEG)