83-year-old Woman Gets a 3D-printed Lower Jaw Implant
Score one for 3D printing.
We've seen some pretty incredible things come out of a 3D printer, but this really takes the cake: A woman in Belgium has just been given a titanium jaw that was printed using a 3D printer. According to 3Ders, Belgian and Dutch scientists at the University of Hasselt (Belgium) have successfully replaced the lower jaw of an 83-year-old woman with a 3D printed model.
The story goes that the woman's lower jaw was badly infected and doctors needed to remove it. Usually, a microsurgical reconstructive surgery would be performed. However, doctors said that this would be risky and would take a long time. Instead, they chose to do a custom-implant job. Researchers say that this is the first custom-made implant in the world to replace an entire lower jaw. The patient recovered much quicker than she would have had she had a more traditional surgery.
"Computer technology is causing a revolution in medical industry", 3Ders cites professor Jules Poukens from BIOMED as saying. "A traditional surgery takes up to 20 hours, and the patient should definitely stay 2 to 4 weeks in the hospital. But this operation lasted four hours and the woman could go home after four days."
The 3D printer that produced the implant was able to do so in a matter of hours (as opposed to the several days it would take to produce the implant using conventional methods) and used less materials to complete the process. The resulting product was a custom-made jaw that, while slightly heavier than a normal jaw, allowed the woman to talk and swallow just one day after surgery.
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Amazing
Squicky, but awesome.
but will it blend?
Can't wait to get a printer for printing body parts :-) I wonder what would be the cartridge prices.. People gonna think twice before ordering those cheap refills on ebay :-)
Can't wait to get a printer for printing body parts :-) I wonder what would be the cartridge prices.. People gonna think twice before ordering those cheap refills on ebay :-)
Awesome, just Awesome
wow, Belgium mentioned for doing something good for a change!
(yes, I'm Belgian, it's complicated)
I wonder how much it would cost to get every bone made out of titanium.. >
Oh for um.. Science of course..
Does Dr. Frank-N-Furter have one of those?
Can't wait to get a printer for printing body parts :-) I wonder what would be the cartridge prices.. People gonna think twice before ordering those cheap refills on ebay :-)
depends on the material... most likely a consumer version is going to be a type of plastic, and possible a higher end one may use a low melting metal like solder. 1lb of solder is about 25-35$ and you will probably get more out of it than with ink cartrages.
i mean seriously, when a 3d printer and material to print come down to 3-500$ and can make something 6 inches high, and material its made out of costs less than 25$ a pound... im buying it...
i have skills with painting... i could make small custom figureinges, and sell them for a bit of money each...
Did I hear someone say 'medical replicator'?
body parts upgrade
JAW part
select material:
platinum, gold, titanium, carbon fibre, plastic, magnesium, silicone
custom finish:
matching colour, piercing, tattoo, embed microchip
add-ons:
nut cracking upgrade, upgraded strength
select installation:
express 1 day recovery, normal 4 days recovery
insurance:
1year parts and labour, 2years parts and labour, 3years parts and labour
FREE 6month check up
body parts upgrade JAW partselect material
How could you leave Adamantium and Vibranium?
hooray for innovation and technology..
this is awesome totaly
If they had used a Bulldozer, it would be neck and neck with surgery.
I did some post-grad work doing this 6 years ago now; we were able to custom print out artificial knees/hip implants that were made of a calcium polyphosphate (aka, CPP; a porous, artificial bone-like material), titanium, and stem cells.
The idea is that when implanted, the surrounding bone would grow into the porous CPP, slowly dissolving the CPP and replacing it over time. The titanium internal structure of the implant, potentially porous also, would remain afterwards for added strength that the natural bone would eventually affix strongly too.
The stem cells were being used on top of the CPP to grow a cartilage-like layers that are needed for the knee to function smoothly. Otherwise you might get arthritis.
That was all along time ago for me though now and it was all in the testing stages. Give it another 20 years; we will be growing bodies I tell ya!
I wonder if she will do a James Bond movie?
Incredibly good story.. technology doing something not just good, but pretty awesome. Let's do this for the millions of people in the world suffering the same and similar conditions. Even not so long ago this would have been the stuff of dreams; I can't believe how quickly it's done (4 hours?!), and how quickly the patient is able to leave hospital. Let's support things like this instead of seeing money wasted on stupid wars and gutless, corrupt politicians.
wow
Maybe they can do this for Roger Ebert.
Uhm...but can it play Crysis?
I wonder how much it would cost to get every bone made out of titanium.. >Oh for um.. Science of course..
It wouldn't work because you wouldnt have any bone marrow left and I think marrow is where blood cells are made.
What happens if you get a blocked nozzle in a 3D print head? Missing teeth? Cavity?
WOW!
an 83 year old T-1000!!!!
LOL!
Give granny the shotgun and a harley so she can take down Skynet
Giving Jaws from the James Bond films a run for his money. Thanks Belgium ...first good chocolate, now this ...