3D printers have been all the rage lately. In the past few years, we’ve started to see mainstream uses of the technology as the price of 3D printers (while still not cheap) fall. One of the potentially greatest uses for this technology is the implications it has for the medical community; from hard casts for broken bones to heart valves printed with bio materials, the possibilities are endless, but many are still in the developing stages. But in the field of prosthetics, huge advances are already being made largely due to these printers.
E-Nable is an organization that describes itself as “a global network of passionate volunteers using 3D printing to give the world a “Helping Hand.” Founded in 2013 by Rochester Institute of Technology by research scientist Jon Schull, E-Nable began as an online network providing locations of centers that had the capabilities to print prosthetic limbs using open-source blueprints. This way, people with missing limbs could get in contact with the centers and request a limb for far less than a traditional prosthetic would cost (a comparable, traditionally-made limb would run between $6,000 and $10,000) . It has since evolved into the area of designing limbs to make them as efficient as possible. Patients can receive one of these 3D printed limbs for no charge (the material cost is about $35, but can be covered by donations), making it a life changer for some, especially children. In the past, it was very uncommon for children born without hands or forelimbs to have prosthetics, because they were too costly to refit and replace every year as the child outgrew them. With 3D printing and E-Nable, the limbs become so cheap that families have that financial burden lifted. They plan to give away over 6,000 limbs over the next two years. While these E-Nable devices have not (at least, not yet) brought an end to demand for traditional prosthetics, it’s focus on underserved communities around the world have made it a viable option for many.
3D printing is also inspiring researchers to build cheaper robotic prosthetics as well. Joel Gibbard of Open Bionics is developing a 3D printed robotic arm that can be made in 40 hours and will sell for around $2,000 (compared to a traditional robot arm that would cost anywhere from $50-100,000). He too hopes that these limbs will especially serve children who can’t afford to replace a high functioning prosthetics often.
What other medical problems do you think 3D printers could be useful in solving?
You can check out a video of an E-Nable limb in action below!
WATCH THIS FIRST!!!!
https://youtu.be/8S53Mc4UjgI
I know this is not exactly what the post was about but I feel it is definitely relevant and was developed by a team at Penn State. The “Titan Arm” is a strength-enhancing upper-body exoskeleton that will help lift an extra 40 pounds. The original purpose of the Titan Arm was to help rehabilitate people who have suffered serious injury, but the possible applications are endless. Even the developers thought there were occupational uses, for people who lift heavy objects all day. The really amazing part is how this technology was relatively inexpensive because 3D printed parts were used.
The Titan Arm is just getting started too. Now that the foundation is there people will start improving the product. The weight capabilities will increase, manufacturing time and cost will reduce, and the “Arm” will extend to other parts of the body. There is a big future for this technology in rehabilitation, health care, industry in general, and possibly the military. I think this is a very cool product that could go really far and be life changing.
Please watch videos!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2521245/Titan-Arm-bionic-exoskeleton-lets-users-lift-extra-40lb-effortlessly.html
It wouldn’t surprise if the technology is developed enough for actual organs to be 3D printed sometime in the near future. As unconventional as it may be, I think that 3D printing might be able to help individuals who are going through gender correction procedures. The technology and procedures would obviously have to be improved, but I think it would be very beneficial in cases like that.
Arms aren’t the only body parts that can be printed though. I found an article that discusses 5 body parts that scientists can 3D print. Included in those body parts are bones, skin grafts, blood vessels, kidneys, and ears. It’s pretty incredible that body parts like ears can be printed because “at least one child in 12,500 is born with microtia, a condition characterized by hearing loss due to an underdeveloped or malformed outer ear.” I had no idea about that statistic, but it’s amazing to me that 3D printed parts would be able to potentially reduce that number significantly.
Read more here: http://www.popsci.com/science/gallery/2013-07/5-body-parts-scientists-can-3-d-print?image=0
“I think 3D printing for medical use is the most efficient way of using this new technology” I agree with Lindsey, the utilization of 3D printing can be a major benefit to the medical industry. Prosthetics today costs thousands of dollars which, in many cases people cannot afford and instead have to live their lives with one arm. One cannot support his or her family due to the fact many jobs require the use of two arms to perform daily work tasks. With the use of 3D printing, costs of prosthetics will decrease immensely allowing people of all monetary class to receive high quality and functioning prosthetics.
One market 3D printing prosthetics arms will strive in, is the market of veterans of all arms, Vietnam to the current war in the Middle East. IEDs propose a major threat and is the leading weapon causing mutilation of soldiers. Hundreds upon hundreds of Americans return home with loss of body parts. They are unable to find jobs due to their condition and are desperately looking for ways to raise money in order to buy a prosthetic body part.
Lastly, 3D printing would create prosthetics that can fit with anyones body shape and size as well as having a 100% error free manufacturing percentage. I think it is imperative that we invest money into advancing the 3D printing technology to create objects such as prosthetics, to reduce cost for the consumer and make it available for everyone
I think 3D printing for medical uses is the most efficient way of using this new technology. Even though medical technology has been exponentially growing, 3D printing takes it to a whole new level. I think the accessibility of prosthetic limbs will positively impact so many people and help them lead normal lives.
I wanted to read more on how else 3D printing can impact the medical field, and found an article on Web MD that touched upon other positives. The one that stood out to me the most was the fact that 3D printers can accurately print and reproduce cells. Producing replicas of cells, tumors, and other organs that need to have surgical procedures done on them can be used to train doctors and also practice before the actual surgery. Not only can doctors and med students use this technology to broaden their knowledge, but applying treatments to the replicated versions can give a sense of if the actual cells will react positively or negatively which can help doctors decide what method of treatment is best for their patient.
I think this technology is amazing, and used in the right ways, can transform the medical field. If I was ever a patient and I knew that a doctor could perform a “test run” and get accurate results I would feel a lot more comfortable undergoing the procedure.
Read more: http://www.webmd.com/news/breaking-news/future-of-health/#3d-printing-toc/3d-printing
Your post is very exciting! I love it because it provides hopes for children with disability. But I have some questions though. First of all, the process of 3D printing might take a long time building up the parts due to the complicate structure of the replacement of human arms or legs. So people have to wait for a long time to get the part. Second, the efficiency of the 3D printers is very low because it can’t have mass manufacturing right now. So it is questioning whether these machines will complete the tasks on time. The last point that I want to mention is about the budget. The cost of making a limb doesn’t solely include the cost of the material and the printer. It also has other costs such as repairing fee. All in all, it is a good sign, but it takes more time to get them into practical use.