Innovation 3D-printing - changing the way medicine works
The 3D printing has found its way into medicine: Among other things, bone and lost limbs were completely replaced by 3D-printed implants.
In June 2018, BIOLIFE4D announced the successful manufacture of a heart patch. This is a promising step towards the production of complete organs using 3D-printing technology. BIOLIFE4D will now turn its focus on the manufacture of valves and blood vessels that will contribute to the 3D-bioprinting of a full artificial heart.
Further innovations in 3D-printing are already in the pipeline:
- For example, the University of New Mexico is working on the production of 3D-printed ligaments using a special electrospinning process to optimize the difficult treatment of torn ligaments, occuring frequently.
- Researchers at the University of Minnesota, on the other hand, are currently working on the development of a functional bionic eye using 3D-printed photoreceptors. This new technology could lead to a breakthrough in curing blindness.
- In the future it is expected that whole organs, such as an artificial lung for the treatment of COPD, can be produced using a 3D-printer. In this area, an artificial placenta has already been produced as a miniature-cell culture on a chip by means of 3D-printing, that behaves in the manner of a full-sized organ. This tiny chip may be able to provide new insights into the transfer of blood and tissue components from pregnant women to their children.
- A breakthrough could also be achieved in the future in restoring spinal cord function after injury, through a tiny 3D-printed neuronal scaffold.
- 3D-printing also offers promising applications for surgeries. Last year, for example, a complicated 3D-printed model made it possible to perform an organ saving surgery in a patient with 50 tumors in the uterus.
The innovations of 3D-printing will permanently change the medical device market in Germany. As experts for market access of medical devices, SKC consulting supports its clients on this new path.
BY Heike Kielhorn-Schönermark, managing director and Bianca Prelle, B. A. Health Management
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