3D Printing in Medicine: Where will it be in 10 years?

Medicine is an area where the use of 3D printing is bringing very satisfactory outcomes on face and knee surgeries.

One particular application of 3D technology related to face surgery is helping to make incredible improvements.  Typically, this kind of surgery can last up to 24 hours (if a transplant is involved) and the results are not always satisfactory.  New developments in 3D printing improve the outcome because:

1) 3D models of the skull of the patient allows doctors to practice simulated situations that reduce time of operation and

2) It is much easier to follow the recovery of the patient due to the vast amount of information contained in the 3D image.

An example of a successful surgery using 3D printing is the little girl Violet Pietrok, born with frontonasal dysplasia (malformation of the face and head).

(Before and after reconstructive surgery)

Another interesting applications of 3D printing is related to knee injuries. Millions of individuals have knee problems due to cartilage wearing away. What about implanting 3D printed artificial cartilage in the knee? The United States has already started experimenting with this.

Knee cartilage regenerated with 3D printed scaffold

If we focus on the future, in a few years it seems that most, if not all body parts will be able to be reconstructed using 3D printing. It is already estimated that in 10 years there will be a 3D heart available. How much longer will we be able to live? 20-30 years more? It also raises the question of whether organ donations will still be necessary anymore (the waiting list for kidneys is so long that many people die before having the transplant). In my opinion, we will become a little bit like “Robocop” but I do not have doubts that it will be for the better.

What are your thoughts on the impact that 3D printing will have on the human body?

Written by: Ramon Avial