3D printed surgical models help patients visualize results

When it comes to bones, 3D printing has made its rounds. Procedural algorithms have been modeled after bone to print buildings, the skeleton of a living person was printed, and materials have been based on the pattern of bone’s structure. Bioengineers at Advanced Biologics are working on a synthetic bone graft substitute, and 3D printers are used to visualize the procedure to patients.

Afinia bone

Ethan Broadway is a designer at Edumation, a company that creates graphics to demonstrate medical procedures. As far as understanding goes, some people are auditory, some are visual, and some are tactile. Many are tactile actually. So to help patients get a better idea of how the product performs, Ethan printed pre- and post-surgery CT scans of the areas that would be affected. “The 3D models would really show how our client’s product performs in a post-surgical environment,” Ethan said.

bone model

As you can see, Ethan prints the displays with an Afinia printer. He chose it because he saw how easy to use it is in MAKE Magazine’s 3D printer roundup. He’s been very pleased with their customer support, so much so that he bought another to keep up with demand. He reported ”The models were very well received by potential clients which allowed us to gain much greater acceptance of our client’s product.”

Source: Afinia

  • Marc

    This should be done with surgery for craniosynostosis, The skull is surgically cut and parts repositioned.