Three-dimensional printing in healthcare

Abstract

This work aims to briefly present the cutting edge of 3D printing innovation in healthcare. This technology is used for surgical planning, medical education, bioprinting of tissues, and medical equipment spare parts in fields like pharmacology, prosthetics, surgery, and regenerative medicine. A review of the last decade was made in the search engines of PubMed and Espacenet. Three authors reviewed titles, abstracts, and keywords separately to identify studies appropriate to the topic. After the initial examination, complete texts of identified relevant studies were obtained and classified according to the authors. Results were synthesized in a narrative literature review. The revision showed that 3D printing has become of common use in the healthcare system since it allows medical personnel to implement customized solutions for each patient, thus reducing the probability of a false diagnostic or treatment. Major applications among the advantages and disadvantages of 3D printing in healthcare were presented. Nowadays, the main challenge in 3D printing is the cost of the equipment and its manufacturing. In the future, the challenges in cost could be reduced, but processing requirements and limited materials may still need further work.

Literature review on hydrogels in 3D skin printing: Applications, challenges and trends

“…Esses materiais são escolhidos com base nas especificações do projeto e na aplicação pretendida da pele 3D, seja para pesquisa médica, desenvolvimento de produtos cosméticos, simulação em treinamento médico ou outros fins. A combinação adequada de materiais é fundamental para obter resultados realistas e funcionais (Sanpablo, 2021).…”

“…Suas principais utilidades dentro da área da saúde são, na área médica para a produção de próteses, reprodução de tecidos e órgãos para transplantes, no meio acadêmico, e planejamento cirúrgico. Além do uso na medicina, a bioimpressão também é utilizada na indústria farmacêutica no desenvolvimento de novos medicamentos e na substituição dos testes em animais com a fabricação de modelos de pele em 3D, favorecendo testes toxicológicos de novos fármacos e cosméticos e, possibilitando estudos e testes Cruelty Free (Sanpablo, 2021).…”

Practical Application of 3D Printing for Pharmaceuticals in Hospitals and Pharmacies

“…In addition, this technology can be applied to the concepts of telepharmacy and telemedicine to prescribe medications over long distances [ 16 ]. Recent scholarly publications and patents pertaining to the healthcare application of 3D printing technology have surpassed 6400 research articles and 31 patents globally in 2020 [ 17 ]. Moreover, 3D printing is increasingly applied in drug stores and hospitals.…”

Influence of Parameters and Performance Evaluation of 3D-Printed Tungsten Mixed Filament Shields

“…In addition, in the process of dusting off the powder, harmful microparticles are blown out, so dustproof facilities are required in the working environment. However, in the case of the FDM (fused deposition modeling) method used in this study, this process is a method of stacking the output by spraying heated filaments with an extrusion nozzle to extrude the plasticized polymer material and create the designed shape of the final product [ 15 ]. The growing interest in unit and low-volume production includes product design for specific manufacturing technologies, such as FDM and FFF, which can better exploit the advantages of these technologies and reduce their limitations [ 16 ].…”