3D printing and medicine

Abstract

In modern conditions, the possibilities of using 3D printing in medicine are expanding, and it occupies about 11% of the global additive manufacturing market. At the Kirov Military Medical Academy and the ERA Military Innovation Technopolis, 3D printing is used for training, preoperative planning, the creation of splints, the manufacture of non-invasive functional products, and the creation of COVID-19 prevention aids.
 In order to determine the prospects for development, foreign experience in the use of 3D printing in medicine has been studied over the past 5 years.
 It is established that a register of clinical data on 3D printing is being created for training, 3D models are being printed to simulate tissue resistance during surgery. With the help of preoperative planning, Siamese twins are separated, doctors are trained in surgical operations on 3D models of elastic resin feet, cardiological models are used to predict the risk of complications during transcatheter implantation of an artificial aortic valve, as well as rehearsals of operations with congenital heart anomalies. Individual implants are manufactured for the lumbar and cervical spine, replacement of the damaged area of the chest and rib, finger phalanges, hip and knee replacements. As auxiliary products, individual surgical instruments for operations with low trauma, orthopedic insoles, elastic stents for the urethra and mesh stents of the trachea are created. New materials made of polyamide (PA11), polyesteresterketone, titanium alloys, absorbable polymer and biocompatible resin are offered for 3D printing. There are new 3D printing software and updates of existing ones. Personalized braces and aligners are printed in dentistry. With the help of 3D printing, individual multi-layered polytablets, smart tablets that release medicinal substances on command from a smartphone, childrens chewing tablets are created. For research purposes, the following devices have been printed: simulating cardiac tissue with sensors to track the effects of drugs and toxins; predicting the individual response of the biopsy tumor material to treatment; diagnosing some infectious diseases using a smartphone and a silicon microfluidic chip.
 The use of 3D printing in medicine individualizes and improves the quality of medical care.