Medical additive manufacturing

The new health vanguard

Pre-operative analysis and planning in traumatology, the dental sector, training and even hospital maintenance departments are some of the fields where alternative production technologies are already successfully applied. But there is much more research in the pipeline, which holds a promising horizon for the healthcare sector and additive manufacturing.

Today, additive manufacturing in the medical sector is revolutionising the conception of modern medicine. Many options exist today for patients who need customised solutions and are turning to 3D printing; in fact, the medical industry is one of the fields that has best embraced additive manufacturing technologies, enabling the advent of so-called personalised medicine. According to the 2019 Gartner Curve Report, the medical sector is one of the fastest growing, and it is expected that in the coming years 25% of medical devices in most developed markets will be 3D printed.

3D technologies in healthcare

Biomodels, or parts that mimic body parts intended to support doctors in planning surgery or in simulations, can be made of thermoplastics such as PLA in FDM and photopolymer resin in SLA and flexible options. Orthopaedic insoles and products with geometric requirements are often produced in FDM with flexible materials or in SLS with polymers. Formlabs' SLA technology, for example, also allows the use of biocompatible resins for the production of splints and surgical guides, and a material has even been developed that can assimilate the colour of teeth and gums. In the dental sector, this technology is practically implemented "and is already replacing the traditional model of obtaining dental moulds", says the head of 3D Engineering Services at Solitium Group, who recalls that "intraoral scanners are now used to obtain digital models of the teeth from which to print moulds to make, for example, invisible aligners through thermoforming that are fully functional".