Check these 3D printing advances that show what future may hold

3D printing is helping more patients than ever before through personalized medical devices, faster and cheaper prototyping and more affordable manufacturing.

Recent developments include research into tissue and organ regeneration, lightning-fast responses to supply chain shortages, wearables that improve patient treatment, and major investments by device manufacturers.

Here are some of the 3D printing advances that show what the future may hold.

Breast tissue regeneration
3D printer manufacturer Stratasys and bioink developer CollPlant have launched a collaboration to take tissue and organ bioprinting to an industrial level. Their first initiative is focused on CollPlant’s regenerative breast implants, which are being developed to regenerate a breast cancer patient’s natural tissue without triggering an immune response.
CollPlant said its bioprinted regenerative tissue formed connective tissue and neovascular networks in a preclinical, large-animal study that had no adverse events. CollPlants said it plans to follow up this year with another large-animal study using commercial-size implants ahead of human studies and product commercialization.

“The combined, pioneering technologies of both companies will streamline the development and production process so that we have the most efficient means to produce our regenerative breast implants and other potential tissues and organs,” CollPlant CEO Yehiel Tal said. “We believe that our rhCollagen-based regenerative implant has the potential to overcome the challenges of existing breast procedures that use silicone implants or autologous fat tissue transfer.”

Award-winning innovation
A 3D-printed nasopharyngeal swab patented by the University of South Florida helped healthcare providers manage a global shortage of testing swabs in the Covid-19 pandemic.
The team developed the 3D-printed prototype in one week in March 2020 and shared the design for free with organizations, leading to the production of more than 100 million swabs. That act of innovative altruism won the Patents for Humanity prize from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

“This recognition by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office validates both the tremendous power of academic medicine, especially during a crisis, and the values and commitment these teams have for contributing to the greater good,” said Dr Charles Lockwood, EVP for USF Health.

Anatomical models
3D printing is allowing device developers and surgeons to build personalized models of organs, bones and other bodily structures. These can be used for training, education, pre-operative planning or to test new and improved device prototypes.

MIT engineers are 3D printing individualized heart replicas to test how a particular valve implant will affect the performance of a specific patient’s heart.

“We’re not only printing the heart’s anatomy, but also replicating its mechanics and physiology,” MIT mechanical engineering professor Ellen Roche said. “That’s the part that we get excited about.”

Meanwhile, Stratasys and Ricoh are partnering on 3D-printed, personalized anatomic models for clinical settings. The on-demand models provide specific visualizations of a patient’s anatomy to allow practitioners to plan and practice complex surgeries and improve communication between medical staff, the patient and families.

Orthopedics
Researchers in Switzerland are working on a 3D-printable ink that can mineralize to form a high-strength, lightweight bio-composite that mimics the structure and properties of bone. This “BactoInk” contains bacteria that trigger the production of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) without the need for the high temperatures necessary for manufacturing ceramics.

And last year, Stryker opened a 156,000 ft² facility for 3D printing in Ireland. It’s the latest investment in the field by the world’s largest orthopedics company, which has been working with additive manufacturing technology for more than 20 years. 3D printing metal joint replacements, for example, allows Stryker to make more porous implant surfaces for better bone fixation.

Wearables
3D-printed face masks are helping pediatric burn patients heal better with personalized treatments.

The new technology also eliminates a potentially traumatic step for burn patients, who previously needed to endure warm plaster bandages to make masks of their faces.

“3D printing is something we’ve dreamed of for quite a long time,” said Christophe Debat, GM of Romans Ferrari pediatric rehabilitation center in France. “We had imagined that a 3D printer would allow us to produce a mask based on the scanned file without ever having to touch the patient.”

The team has treated more than 100 patients using a Formlabs Fuse 1 selective laser sintering (SLS) printer.

Here in the U.S., University of Hawaiʻi researchers are working on a 3D-printed, wearable sweat sensor for health monitoring.

“3D-printing enables an entirely new design mode for wearable sweat sensors by allowing us to create fluidic networks and features with unprecedented complexity,” Department of Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Tyler Ray said. “With the sweatainer, we are utilizing 3D-printing to showcase the vast opportunities this approach enables for accessible, innovative and cost-effective prototyping of advanced wearable sweat devices.”

Wound repair potential
Researchers have developed a small robotic arm for 3D printing biomaterial directly on human organs.

The University of New South Wales-Sydney Medical Robotics Lab team tested their endoscope-like 3D bioprinting prototype on pig organs and said they expect medical professionals could use the technology to access hard-to-reach areas inside the body within a decade.

“Existing 3D bioprinting techniques require biomaterials to be made outside the body, and implanting that into a person would usually require large open-field open surgery, which increases infection risks,” said Thanh Nho Do, the Medical Robotics Lab’s director. “Our flexible 3D bioprinter means biomaterials can be directly delivered into the target tissue or organs with a minimally invasive approach.”

3D printing automation
Formlabs this year launched its Automation Ecosystem for manufacturers that want to expand from a single 3D printer to a scalable fleet.

Formlabs said the new offering can increase productivity and reduce materials costs and packaging waste.

“These solutions will enable companies such as dental labs, service bureaus, and internal job shops to ramp up production without increasing labor requirements, or expensive capital investment, making 3D printing for production more cost-effective,” Formlabs Chief Product Officer Dávid Lakatos said.

First FDA clearance for Stratasys
Stratasys won FDA clearance this year for its TrueDent 3D printing resin for making dentures.

The resin is the company’s first FDA-cleared medical device, developed for printing exclusively with the Stratasys J5 DentaJet 3D printer and GrabCAD Print software platform.

“This new solution will be transformative for the dental industry, and we believe it will help our customers significantly reduce the time and cost of producing dentures and temporaries,” Stratasys Dental VP Ronen Lebi said at the time.

Mergers and acquisitions
Stratasys and Desktop Metal plan to merge in a $1.8 billion deal by the end of 2023. Both companies serve medical device developers and the broader healthcare market.

The companies estimate they’ll have $1.1 billion in 2025 revenue after the combination. The combined companies will have more than 800 scientists and engineers.

“With attractive positions across complementary product offerings, including aerospace, automotive, consumer products, healthcare and dental, as well as one of the largest and most experienced R&D teams, industry-leading go-to-market infrastructure and a robust balance sheet, the combined company will be committed to delivering ongoing innovation while providing outstanding service to customers,” Stratasys CEO Yoav Zeif said.

In April, Stratasys completed its acquisition of Covestro’s additive manufacturing materials business, covering approximately 60 additive manufacturing materials and an IP portfolio with hundreds of patents and patents pending. The deal also included R&D facilities and activities, a global development and sales team in Europe, the U.S. and Asia.

“With this acquisition, we’re not just expanding our materials portfolio for our broad array of 3D printing technologies — we’re also paving the way for more new innovations,” Zeif said at the time. “Additionally, our growing team of in-house materials experts will be in a stronger position to collaborate with our materials ecosystem partners. Together, we’ll be able to address more applications faster, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in additive manufacturing.”