THE NEWS IN PRINT

The last time I heard about 3D printers was during the release of desktop factory by Idealab. Desktop factory was designed for homes to create objects for educational purpose for kids and for architects. Now, the attention is on the medical field where 3D printers will be used to print/create artificial bones. Several successful tests have been conducted on animals in the past two years and human testing will soon follow.

This research is a joint venture conducted by Tissue Engineering Department at the University of Tokyo Hospital and Next21. These tests are based on trials conducted by Welsh Corgi and others in the past two years.

To make an artificial bone with this technology, a 3D computer model of the bone is first created based on the patient’s X-ray and CT scan data. The computer model is then sliced into a large number of cross-sections and the data is sent to a special 3D inkjet printer, which works sort of like an ordinary inkjet printer by transferring tiny droplets of liquid onto a surface. However, unlike ordinary printers that print on paper, this one prints onto thin layers of powdered alpha-tricalcium phosphate (alpha-TCP). The “ink” is a water-based polymer adhesive that hardens the alpha-TCP it comes into contact with. By repeatedly laying down the powder and printing successive layers on top of one another, the printer is able to physically reproduce the desired bone to an accuracy of one millimeter.

Printed artificial bones have many similar characteristics as the natural bones such as lightweight, porous and strong. The printed bone is biodegradable which enables natural bone to grow around it and eventually replace it.

Printed bones are found to be at least ten times stronger than conventional artificial bones that are made of hydroxylapatite but not strong enough to replace weight bearing natural bones. Printed bones are cheaper, quicker and easier to construct.

This technology is projected to be available for commercial use in 2010 if all testing goes well.

via Pink Tentacle

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 at 5:24 pm and is filed under Innovation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.