News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Pharmaceutical 3D printing specialist FabRx has produced orodispersible 3D printed tablets, called Printlets, which are designed with Braille and Moon patterns on the surface to aid medicine taking for patients with visual impairment.
Global engineering technologies company, Renishaw, has concluded the extension component of its phase 1-2 clinical study, carried out jointly with pharmaceuticals expert Herantis Pharma, which investigated the safety and performance of its neuroinfuse drug delivery device and cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF), as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease.
South Korean pharmaceutical company HK inno.N has announced plans to use artificial 3D printed skin to test new autoimmune and skin disorder drugs.
China-based orthopedic implant manufacturer AK Medical has added eight GE Arcam EBM Q10plus 3D printers to its fleet, citing a rising demand for implants across the country. The company has been using EBM (Electron Beam Melting) technology since 2009, working closely with a range of clinical and R&D experts to standardize and certify additively manufactured medical devices in China. Moving forward, AK has stated that it will focus its efforts on 3D printing while expanding beyond just additively manufactured bone joints.
An academic team from the University of the West of England’s Center for Fine Print Research (CFPR) is using 3D printing to produce realistic organs for use in surgical training.
Global reinsurance business Munich Re and technology research firm Fraunhofer have awarded €1m as part of a competition to 3D print medical devices for COVID-19 sufferers.
Stratasys enhanced its J750 printer to enable printing ultra-realistic bone models, which may be used in biomedical training and research. The printer can now mimic porous bone structures, fibrotic tissue, and ligaments so medical professionals can create models that behave just like human bone. The company has relied heavily on clinical research to enhance its product.
Ever since users and groups of people began using 3D printing to make prosthetics more affordable we’ve been waiting for a time when these easily iterable devices would evolve from prosthetic limbs into bionic limbs. The startup Open Bionics was likely founded upon this objective and over time it has come closer to achieving it. With the release of the official Metal Gear Solid prosthetic/bionic version of its Hero Arm, it’s definitely getting closer.
A coalition of Quebec public investors launched a 3D anatomical reconstruction laboratory, dubbed LARA 3D. This unique infrastructure that gives Québec leading-edge equipment and advanced expertise for the manufacture of patient-specific implantable prostheses thanks to the use of 3D imaging, modelling and manufacturing technologies. The investors, Investissement Québec and Laval University, have invested over $8 million in the laboratory.
3D Systems, one of the oldest additive manufacturing companies, announced that the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its Vantage Ankle PSI for medical use. The product is a collection of patient-specific total ankle surgical planning and 3D printed instruments that guides resections in the tibia and talus for total ankle replacement surgery. 3D Systems paired its product with Exactech’s Vantage Total Ankle System to increase operation room efficiency and reliability. The product will also help preserve soft tissues around the affected joint. The system is in a pilot launch, with full market availability projected to occur in late 2021.