News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Triastek, Inc., a company specializing in 3D printing of pharmaceuticals, entered into a collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company, a leading global pharmaceutical company, to leverage the advantages of MED 3D printing technology to enable precisely targeted and programmed release of drugs in specific regions of the GI tract.
Researchers have used volumetric 3D printing to fabricate drug-loaded tablets within a matter of seconds, reportedly for the first time.
3D Systems has entered the radiation oncology market with FDA 510(k) clearance of VSP Bolus, a solution designed to deliver high-quality patient-specific radiotherapy treatment accessories. As the latest addition to the company’s VSP portfolio of personalized medical devices, VSP Bolus is the only solution on the market that offers a full design and production service based on the patient’s treatment plan. As a result, radiotherapy providers do not need specialized design software and expertise, allowing them to focus directly on patient treatment and care. 3D Systems’ deep experience in additive manufacturing of medical devices enables the company to deliver 3D printed, biocompatible patient-specific boluses that can improve therapy modulation as well as patient comfort.
Orion Medical GmbH, founded in Cham, Switzerland in March 2022, is a manufacturing solutions provider for the medical devices industry. The company is closely linked to Orion Additive Manufacturing GmbH (Orion AM), an established manufacturer of 3D printing systems for high-performance polymers based in Berlin, Germany. The key advantage of Orion Medical’s additive manufacturing technology is its Thermal Radiation Heating (TRH) system, which enables the 3D printing of customized medical devices on-demand with injection-molded strength and 100% density.
Researchers at the University of Santiago de Compostela, MERLN Institute University College London (UCL) and UCL spin-out FabRx, have come up with a way of 3D printing tablets inside of seven seconds.
Evonik is expanding its portfolio of 3D printable biomaterials for medical technology: The specialty chemicals company has developed VESTAKEEP iC4800 3DF, a new osteoconductive PEEK filament, for 3D printed implants, that improves fusion between bone and implants. The high-performance polymer can be processed in common extrusion-based 3D printing technologies such as fused filament fabrication (FFF).
CurifyLabs and Natural Machines have entered a strategic partnership to develop a technology that enables customized medicine production through 3D printing – producing personalized medicines for human and veterinary patients, on-site in pharmacies and hospitals. Compounding is the manual preparation of individualized drug treatments for patients where an optimal treatment cannot be achieved with the currently available medicinal products. There are many talented pharmacists who are able to compound drugs manually but the process is ineffective and lacks quality control.
A Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust patient was the first person in the world to be supplied solely with a fully digital 3D printed prosthetic eye on 25 November 2021. He first tried his eye on 11 November alongside a traditional acrylic prosthetic. By going home on 25 November with just his printed eye, he is the first patient to use a 3D printed eye as their sole prosthetic.
The NOVOPLASM consortium has announced it is the “first in the world” to develop cold plasma technology for the treatment of infected burns and the wound healing of skin grafts.
Bioconvergence company BICO is partnering with Nanochon, a startup developing regenerative joint replacements. Under the terms of the deal, Nanochon will purchase $1.5 million worth of products and services from BICO’s SCIENION to develop 3D printed regenerative joint implants. Nanochon’s novel joint implant technology promises to deliver faster and more successful recoveries for patients while reducing costs to health providers, payers, and patients.