The medical revolution is coming! 3D printing to the operating table

3D printing technology has recently helped surgeons in a Japanese hospital solve a problem: they need to cut the donor liver while retaining its function before giving a child a liver transplant with their parents as donors. A slight loss of consequences would be unimaginable—then they simulated the donor liver model on a 3D printer and developed a surgical plan that was successfully completed last month.

3D printing technology, also known as "Additive Manufacturing", has long been used to make models for jewelry, electronics and automotive parts, but today's industrial 3D printers are also benefiting the medical field: they can already customize the human liver and The kidney model, and scientists are still studying how to print embryonic stem cells and living tissue with a 3D printer, the goal is to create a human body that can be transplanted directly to the recipient - it may take many years to make a human body part with a 3D printer. Realized, but advanced 3D printers have begun to enter the hospital.

Japanese surgeon Maki Sugimoto holds a patient liver model made of acrylic resin and made with a 3D printer

Stratasys and 3D Systems, Inc., the world's leading manufacturers of two industrial 3D printers, are currently replicating human organs. Using medical imaging techniques such as CT scanning, these printers can use translucent models of acrylic to help surgeons understand the internal structure of the liver and kidneys, such as the direction of the blood vessels or the exact location of the tumor. The organ model with part of the polyvinyl alcohol material is more realistic in appearance, and has the moistness and texture of the real organ, making it easier for the surgeon to cut it down.

The time required to make a human organ model using 3D printing technology is usually determined by the size of the organ, but the entire process, including converting the original medical image into printable 3D data, usually takes only a few days.

"The application of 3D printers in the medical field is still mostly in the experimental stage, but its application will become more and more common," said Stratasys president David Reis.

In order to enter thousands of hospital operating rooms around the world, 3D printing technology faces many obstacles: First, 3D printers used to make organ models are priced from $250,000 to $500,000, making it difficult for small hospitals to afford; Furthermore, most doctors do not use 3D printers, so hospitals also need technicians to operate 3D printers and convert medical images into printable 3D data.

Maki Sugimoto, a surgeon at Kobe University Hospital in Japan, started making 3D printed patient organ models through the Japanese company Fasotec in 2011. Fasotec acts as an intermediary between hospitals and 3D printers. The company said that few doctors need to copy internal organs. More common is the 3D bone replica.

At the Dental Implant & Maxillofacial Centre in Hong Kong, oral surgeons have been using 3D printers in recent years to create patient mandibular models and custom surgical templates that are placed on the patient during surgery – they can help doctors develop surgical plans. And complete the surgery accurately.

3D printing technology has existed for about 30 years, and the rapid development and price drop of this technology in recent years has made businesses and consumers increasingly interested in it.

In the United States, some universities and corporate laboratories are studying "biological printing," which is the construction of human parts in living tissue. Such research is still in the experimental stage and has encountered medical ethical issues, but researchers still hope that one day, the body parts can be customized according to the needs of patients.

Dr. Maki Sugimoto believes that 3D printing technology can help inexperienced young surgeons perform "exercises" before formal surgery. He believes that if doctors are more confident about the upcoming surgery, patients will be more reassured. "The potential impact is no less than the change from fixed-line to mobile," he said.