Release date: 2016-08-18
A few years ago, if I said "3D printing can be used in medicine ", you will definitely feel that this is simply a fantasy!
But now, do you still think so?
Amos Dudley, a design major at New Jersey Institute of Technology in the United States, is awkward when he smiles! It’s not a long-term solution, and the “invisible transparent braces†is too expensive, so this “poor student†uses its professional advantages and the school’s most advanced 3D printer (New Jersey Institute of Technology design students can use it for free) ), went to check how to correct the teeth and make the braces.
In the end, he printed 12 sets and wore them every day for 16 weeks. The effect can only be described as "wow".
Xiaobian wants to spit: the explosive power of a schoolmaster is amazing! ! The doctor of orthodontics is unemployed! !
So today we will take stock of these "3D printed medical black technology"!
Printing artificial blood vessels
A research team in Germany printed a capillary tube out of a 3D printer to solve the problem of "framework of blood vessels to transport nutrients and excrete metabolic waste." In order to reduce the rejection reaction, special inks containing high molecular polymers and biomolecules are also used. The printed blood vessels are converted into a resilient solid material by a series of chemical reactions.
This allows researchers to accurately construct capillaries.
The researchers washed the artificial blood vessels with cell media
Although this is already very sophisticated, researchers still need to prepare an extra layer of material to construct a fine plume. The resulting capillaries will become the basis of the cells, forming the innermost wall of the innermost layer.
Print skin that matches skin tone
In this particular focus on the external society, skin grafts for skin color are almost as much as severe burn surgery.
So, researchers at the University of Liverpool in the UK took the first step towards 3D printing technology! Print out a personalized, natural looking skin.
Dr. Wuerger and her team are working on a system that will match the printed skin to the individual's skin. To complete the system, the team first developed a 3D scanning camera to scan 3D images of the patient's skin. The scanned data will be used to print the transplanted skin of the patient.
Based on this database, general-purpose, emergency skins will be produced... They even think that one day, someone who might want to have a cosmetic surgery can choose a skin that they like to change~
Xiaobian: So, don't you have a skin color, choose it with you?
Repair facial bones
The Welshman Stephen Power suffered a serious motorcycle accident that caused his face to fracture severely. The plastic surgeon can only fix the damage on his face, and does not repair his eyelids, fearing that it will affect his vision. At that time, his cheekbones and eyelids were broken, his skull was broken, and his chin was broken. So he wore hats and sunglasses when he went out to public places.
Because the damage is more complicated, the doctor turned the treatment direction to 3D printing technology.
First perform a 3D scan of Power's face, then create a model on the computer to create the appropriate bones, so that the Power model is used to perform virtual surgery on the computer. The medical implanted titanium was then subjected to 8 hours of high intensity printing using a 3D printer.
The entire procedure was very smooth, exactly the same as planned on the model.
Power gave a high rating to the doctor. Power said: "To be honest, I think they have been doing very well, because the accident was too bad. I can't explain this operation, it makes me look a lot better."
Xiaobian: It is a qualitative leap! !
3D printing can be transplanted into the ear
Based on 3D printing, scientists have developed 3D bio-printing technology! This technology prints a replaceable tissue that is strong enough to withstand a surgical transplant. The scientists also tested the jaw, muscle, cartilage tissue and human ear for this experiment.
Without the support of blood vessels, cells can't survive, and the blood vessels that are not 200 microns are extremely small. This limitation makes bioprinting a challenging technical proposition.
The new bioprinting system overcomes all of these deficiencies. The biodegradable polymeric material forms a tissue shape, and the hydrogel (non-toxic to the cells) is responsible for transporting the cells into the structure. The temporary external structure maintains the shape of the object during printing. To handle the limited size, researchers need to embed microchannels in the design to allow nutrients and oxygen to be transported to individual cells in the structure.
Atala said: "Basically we have recreated the capillaries, which are like capillary beds."
In order to test their 3D printed biological parts, the researchers did a lot of experiments on living animals. The human outer ear is transplanted under the skin of the mouse. After two months, these ears still maintain their shape, and they also form cartilage tissue and blood vessels. The printed muscle tissue is also transplanted to the mouse, and like the outer ear, they also maintain structural integrity.
The jaws created by stem cells were also transplanted into mice. Five months later, these structures formed vascular bone tissue. In the future, 3D printed bones will be used in human facial reconstruction.
Precise resection of tumor
With the help of 3D printing models, doctors can help patients more accurately remove tumors. On April 22, 2015, Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University successfully completed the first case of complex liver tumor resection in China using 3D printing guidance.
Repeated diarrhea for more than 4 years, has been treated as "gastroenteritis" by local hospitals, and finally diagnosed with a huge tumor in the right liver. The length, width and height are more than 10 cm. The medical staff described it as "shaped like a small watermelon." However, the biggest difficulty in surgery is that there are three variations in the patient's pulmonary artery and portal vein.
With the help of 3D printing technology, doctors developed and implemented the optimal resection plan to avoid important blood vessels and only removed 42.75% of the liver. Experts say that retaining as much liver tissue as possible has a very important effect on the normal recovery of the patient, and because the "below knife" is precise and ingenious, the patient has little intraoperative bleeding.
Although 3D printing technology still has some problems before it becomes a common medical business, its innovative value is worth looking forward to. It is estimated that by 2020, the market value of applying 3D printing technology in healthcare will reach 2.13 billion US dollars (about 13.8 billion yuan).
Xiao Bian believes that the development prospects of 3D printing technology in the domestic medical industry are still very good. There are also a lot of organ tissues that can be printed, which helps doctors to conduct in-depth research on various diseases, and it can deepen the communication between doctors and patients, and it is convenient for patients and their families to understand the condition more intuitively. However, there are certain difficulties in the promotion in the clinic. Regardless of the economic cost or the time cost, it is a matter to be discussed.
Source: Medical Union APP
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