News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
An assistant professor in industrial systems and engineering from Virginia Tech and a team of undergraduate students are hoping to advance customized 3D printed prosthetics with the integration of electronic sensors. The project aims to make sophisticated, electric-powered prosthetics more accessible than existing state-of-the-art prosthetics.
SmarTech Analysis has published the fifth edition of its Additive Manufacturing in Dentistry report. The firm projects that the total market for AM in dentistry will surpass $2.7 billion (USD) in 2019 (hardware, services, materials and software). The report also says that by 2022 as many as 500 million dental devices and restorations will be produced annually via additive manufacturing, driving the overall segment to top $9 billion by the end of the forecast period in 2028.
Though the rumoured alien origins of crystal skulls may be outlandish, there’s a new set of transparent skulls that could stir up innovations within the medical field. Researchers from the University of Minnesota have created 3D printed transparent skull implants for mice that can literally give more insight into how the brain works. According to the researchers, the device could lead to discoveries about brain conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and even concussion.
A medical specialist from the University of Pretoria (UP) Faculty of Health Sciences has pioneered a new surgical procedure that uses 3D printed middle ear bones to treat conductive hearing loss. The innovative solution was recently demonstrated in the world’s first 3D printed middle ear transplant.
UNYQ, a company specializing in custom 3D printed medical wearables, has launched its latest product: the UNYQ Socket, a 3D printed prosthetic leg socket. The new medical device can be paired with UNYQ’s custom 3D printed prosthetic covers and integrates sensors for monitoring the wearer’s activity.
HARZ Labs is a name almost unknown in Europe, but in Russia it is a promising startup and one of the few manufacturers of materials for professional additive manufacturing.
The IDS show now underway in Cologne is ushering in a new era as 3D printing for the dental industry enters a new phase of industrialization. French 3D printer manufacturer Prodways is catering to these new demands by introducing a modular and highly automated dental aligner production solution.
The impact 3D printing is having on life-changing applications is truly something to behold. Though the technology is not yet living up to the much-hyped expectations of 3D printed organs, it is still being used in a variety of ways to innovate within the healthcare sector. Metal 3D printing, for instance, has been leveraged to produce a new drug delivery system for treating Parkinson’s disease, which could be a game changer for the degenerative disorder.
As VP of Sales Paul DiLaura revealed in our exclusive interview a few weeks ago, Carbon does work with third-party suppliers to optimize materials for its unique layerless photopolymerization technology. Mr. Di Laura could not make names at that time but one of the partners in question was Keystone Industries, a large manufacturer of consumables for dental laboratories, and its KeyPrint dental 3D printing solution
Researchers from the University of Wollongong (UOW) in Australia have developed a custom 3D bioprinter dedicated specifically to treating microtia, a congenital deformity that results in an underdeveloped external ear. The bespoke bioprinter, named 3D Alek, was recently installed at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA) in Sydney.