3D printing in the fight against cancer.
The first 3D-printed breastbone and titanium chest part have been successfully implanted in a 54-year-old patient from Spain.
The man was suffering from a malignant type of tumor that affected part of the chest. The implant procedure was performed at the Salamanca University Hospital and the high-tech prosthesis was developed and printed at the CSRIO National Research Center in Melbourne, Australia. The entire process of developing and printing prosthetics, as well as the surgery itself, took less than a month.
Prosthetics for the chest had never been used before, so the operation was significant at the world level. The importance of this undertaking is also reflected in the fact that the 3D printed prosthesis should accurately depict every detail of the structure and shape of the chest of each individual patient. The procedure represents a major breakthrough in the wider use of 3D technology for medical purposes.
Surgeons used a high-resolution 3D CT scanner to determine which part of the chest should be replaced. The prosthesis is made of light but extremely strong titanium, designed by the medical company Anatomics from Melbourne, Australia. The 3D printer Arcam, which works with electron beams and costs 1.3 million dollars, was used. Already 12 days after the operation, the patient was discharged from the hospital in good condition. The biggest advantage of 3D printing is precisely in the rapid creation of prototypes. When waiting for an operation that can save a life, this is certainly one of the possible and faster ways. When we talk about 3D printing for biomedical purposes it seems like we are just at the beginning of what is possible.