3D-printing has come a long way.
With new technology and software being introduced everyday the printers are going from printing iPhone cases to human organs.
A recent KPBS article, details the story of how a pediatric surgeon is using 3D-printing in order to practice surgeries.
At Rady Children’s Hospital, the doctor 3D-printed a replica of a 7 year-old patients heart to practice the complicated procedure before the actual surgery.
According to KPBS, Rady Children’s Hospital opens a 3D Innovations Lab in October. right now the lab is being used to create practice simulations for doctors and is printing skulls, hearts and spines.
The 3D printed replicas of organs even include little tiny blood vessels so that surgeons can see all the critical parts of the surgery.
The hospital is also using these models to show the families the procedure that they are going to complete and take them through the process and the plan of the surgery.
Right now the technology has been limited at just printing models of organs, but it doesn’t seem far away for hospitals to start printing living organs for transplants.
Source: Murphy, Susan. “Pediatric surgeons use 3D printing to help with complex operations.” KPBS, 13 Mar 2019. https://www.kpbs.org/news/2019/mar/13/rady-childrens-hospital-doctors-use-3d-printing-he/.