Medical care and 3D Printing

3D printers for medical use are being used in various medical centers and research centers to accomplish a range of tasks and improve treatment. They are being used to train doctors but also to explore other venues such as medicine delivery that is personalized to patients.

BENEFITS OF 3D PRINTING FOR MEDICALSPHERE

  • 3D printers improve medical imaging

Even the most detailed picture cannot beat an actual model that is printed to size. 3D printers advance medical care through improved medical visualization. It helps medical practitioners to understand what they work with and better prepare for complex operations.

  • 3D printer ease communication with patients

Medicine is not only about saving people, but it also focuses on treating them properly. 3D prints help doctors and their assistance to communicate with the patients and explain to them all stages of the operation. It increases understanding of patients and reduces their pre-operational concerns, thus ensures high level of patient awareness.

  • Cutting costs on essential medical items

When it comes to the actual medical tools, prices could go up tremendously, together with the lead time. However, not all the tools ought to be 100% sterile, and some parts could be 3D printed. This helps to reduce waiting time. Saved money and time could be spent on treating patients and acquiring more expensive and high-end tools.

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APPLICATIONS OF 3D PRINTING IN MEDICAL SPHERE

3D printers help to plan operations

3D printers help with medical imaging. Medical imaging is essential for successful treatment processes. It contributes to both education of future doctors and preparation for operations.

Even well-rendered 2D medical images lack visualization and cannot represent an actual human part. 3D medical prints resolve this issue. They look realistic, mimicking human organs. Such 3D printed parts are useful for preparation procedures, i.e. in planning future operations, post-operational evaluations as an example of what had been before, and to communicate with patients.

The possibility to have a 3D visualization instead of a 2D picture increases overall accuracy and effectiveness of all phases of an operational process. Being more detailed than 2D pictures, 3D printed body parts might become a future of modern medicine.

3D printers help in education of future doctors

3D printed organs are also applicable to the education of future doctors. A 3D printed organ might be hollow or flexible, which increases its similarity to actual human parts.

Why one needs a substitution to animal organs? Although training with them is an important practice, it is not as accurate as working with “actual” human parts. Education with the application of 3D printed organs increases the quality of skills that future doctors get during their training. Consequently, it leads to excellence in the medical treatment of patients.

3D printers can print drugs

Another application of 3D printers in the medical field is the production of drugs. With 3D printers, it is possible to control a precise level of an active substance within the pill. It helps in providing personal treatments for every patient.

The most sensitive this topic is with marijuana-based drugs. Such drugs require a specific dosage of active elements to maximize positive and minimize negative effects. This needs developing more individualized treatment for each person. 3D printers assist with that while controlling for the level of active substances.

3D printers can print medical and laboratory equipment

Another possible application of 3D printers in medical care is the 3D printing of medical and laboratory equipment. One can print plastic parts of such equipment with a 3D printer, which reduces costs and cuts time on waiting for a new medical device from external suppliers. It makes the process of manufacturing medical equipment easier as well as its further application. Thus, it increases the availability of this equipment, and even contributing to the possibility to provide low-income areas with printed medical equipment.

3D printers can print prosthetics

Of course, it is not possible to avoid one of the most well-known applications of 3D printers in medicine – printing of prosthetics. Characteristics of 3D printers provide users with the freedom to choose various designs, forms, sizes, and colors of prostheses – which makes each printed piece very personalized. The more 3D printers are available, the more prosthetics are available at lower costs.