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Titanium Bones Made from 3D Printing

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LayerWise Jawbone
Image Source: {a href="http://www.web2carz.com/tech/everything-else/455/printed-body-parts" target="_blank"}Web2Carz{/a}

3D printing is a relatively new technology that is revolutionizing what can be made and how. Objects are made by “printing” ultra thin layers of a material on top of each other until a desired finished product is made. Up to now, 3D printing has been used to make specialized parts or prototypes for manufacturing. Now 3D printing is moving towards medical usage in a groundbreaking way. Titanium bones can now be printed and put into the body.

This was recently done for a Belgian woman who needed a new jawbone. This excerpt from an article on ieee Spectrum describes the situation.

Last June, an 83-year-old Belgian woman suffering from oral cancer and an infection that was eating away at her jaw received a jawbone transplant that took a team of 10 surgeons 11 hours to complete.

LayerWise Jawbone
Image: {a href="http://www.layerwise.com/" target="_blank"}LayerWise{/a}

The jawbone was created by 3D printing company LayerWise. Their process of 3d printing is called metal additive manufacturing. First a 3D CAD model is created on a computer and that information is sent to the 3D printer. In this process titanium powder is put in the enclosed printer. Lasers then melt the powder into thousands of 2D layers until  a finished 3D piece is made.

LayerWise Jawbone

LayerWise Jawbone
Image: {a href="http://www.layerwise.com/" target="_blank"}LayerWise{/a}

Titanium was used because it works well with the human body. Donated jawbones can be rejected by the body and using the patient’s own bone marrow means a separate procedure. Other metals such as those used in hip joints can cause allergic reactions. In the end, titanium was the way to go.

LayerWise Jawbone
Image: {a href="http://www.layerwise.com/" target="_blank"}LayerWise{/a}

To better integrate muscles and nerves to the jawbone implant,  cavities were created and a bio ceramic coating was applied. The patient was reportedly able to speak and move her new jaw within hours of the surgery. Building muscles and nerves will take some time but will in time.

LayerWise
Image: {a href="http://www.layerwise.com/" target="_blank"}LayerWise{/a}

This application of 3D printing is amazing and has the potential to recreate every bone in the body. Maybe adamantium bones are in our future! To see the 3D printing in action watch the video below. For more on LayerWise and what else they can create, visit their website here www.LayerWise.com.