3D printers are in their infancy, but are already on the verge of making dramatic changes to how some items are manufactured.
Washington State Univerity researchers are using a desktop sized 3D printer to create structures that promote the growth of bones to repair bone injuries. Pretty amazing actually. The concept itself is exciting, but it is also exciting how the 3D printer technology changes the process and brings it's potential to wider audiences.
The solution this technology provides is described in the press release as:
- a 3D printer creates a bone-like material and structure that can be used in orthopedic procedures, dental work and to deliver medicine for treating osteoporosis. Paired with actual bone, it acts as a scaffold for new bone to grow on and ultimately dissolves with no apparent ill effects.
Susmita Bose, co-author and professor in WSU’s School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering describes it this way:
- "If a doctor has a CT scan of a defect, we can convert it to a CAD file and make the scaffold according to the defect,” Bose said.
So, here we are, start with a CT scan, and with the aid of an affordable 3D printer, doctors can jump start the repair of complex bone injuries.
To me, this is just a small taste of where 3D printing can take us, both in the manufacture of complex items and in how the addition of 3D printing can really streamline the entire product / solution deployment and use.
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