3D printing has found applications in many fields. The advancing technology allows objects to be made with 3D printers, but it has also become a method for making finished items, including clothing, toys. 3D printing is also very important in medicine. First of all, thanks to it, dedicated medical devices can be created, designed to solve a specific surgical problem. How important is 3D printing in medicine?
3D printers create realistic anatomical models of individual human organs or entire systems. The prints show the appearance of real organs with innervation or tissue. Printers are used for surgical training. Neuroanatomical models created with 3D printers are very accurate and helpful for surgeons. They show the most complex structures and innervations in the human body. This, in turn, is extremely important for making the right diagnosis and preparing the patient and medical crew for surgery.
Planning operations using 3D printing eliminates the risk of problems that may occur during the operation. It also allows novice surgeons to practice making trial cuts. A wide range of surgeons use models based on x-ray or ultrasound scans. This makes it possible to reflect the organs that are occupied by a particular disease, which in turn allows for precise planning of the operation. This planning affects patient safety and the duration of the surgery. Students also note that 3D printing has a very important contribution to make to current medicine and their studies because it makes the image of organs such as the kidney or heart much clearer than the image from tomography or ultrasound.
With 3D printing, surgical instruments can be created. Prints produced from biocompatible material are thoroughly sterilized and are also approved for contact with human tissue.
Anatomical models for education, patient organs printed from ultrasound scans, implants or surgical instruments. 3D printing offers many applications in medicine. Polish specialist doctors, surgeons, cardiologists are already using 3D printing to better prepare for surgery.
3D medicine is no longer surprising, in fact, it has become a reality. Specialists conducting numerous experiments and research are finding more and more new areas to develop 3D printing in the medical space. Personalized precision medicine is becoming more and more popular. Many hospitals are already using 3D printers, establishing contracts and partnership agreements for many years with manufacturers of such printers. With these devices becoming more and more modern, the introduction of this technology into the daily work of medical professionals is becoming the norm.
Medicine needs precise, reliable and affordable instruments. But the biggest challenge is that every patient and their conditions are different. With 3D printing technology, this can be professionally addressed. With many successful surgeries and more discoveries where 3D printing is applicable, the development of the medical industry is progressing more and more clearly. On a positive note, thanks to the development of modern printing technology, 3D printers and the materials used for them are becoming lower and more affordable, causing more and more hospitals and clinics to use them in their daily work. The properties and applications of printers are constantly being improved, and further adversities and barriers in creating organs for the needs of, for example, transplantation are being bravely overcome.
Interestingly, thanks to 3D technology, the creation of bioprinted skin has also become a reality. A special bio-ink is used to print skin, which contains, among others, human plasma. The skin printed with this technology is fully functional and reflects the real skin. It consists of epidermis, and dermis, containing collagen. 3D printing technology modernizes the approach to medicine. It makes the work easier, more informed, and safer.
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