Innovation: Could 3D printing revolutionise healthcare?
It is the health revolution of the near future. Thanks to 3D printing, we can now create implants, food and maybe, organs for transplant.
The giants of the agro-food industry, in particular those who sell chocolate, have already begun to 3D print some of their products. Almost everywhere in the world, manufacturers of 3D printers are developing and perfecting their devices so soon enough, the trial phase will end and open it up to mass production. Slowly and by trying not to draw too much the attention, 3D printing is also revolutionising what we eat. It's calling for a huge change, and this is only the beginning.
3D PRINTING ALREADY IN PLACE AT HOSPITALS IN FRANCE
Thanks to a head scan made of an injured person, it is now possible to print a perfectly identical replica of the skull in 3D. This is a precious tool; particularly for facial reconstructions. Surgeons work on this model to prepare the custom-made implant required. The results are shorter operations, lower doses of anaesthesia and, thus, fewer risks of complications. In the future, doctors intend to use this process to create prostheses.
AND SOON TRANSPLANT ORGANS WILL BE PRINTED?
Last year in China, the first 3D vertebra was put into a teenager suffering from a tumour. In the United States, the production of printed hip and knee prostheses has exploded. But the next fews steps could really revolutionise the medical field. From stem cells cultivated to differentiate into liver, kidney or lung cells, one could imagine a cartridge that's capable of printing organic tissue and ultimately use 3D printing to produce organs for transplant. This is a futuristic scenario that should come to life quickly.
Maureen DIAMENT
