For as long as we have imagined the future of medical technology, we have toyed with the idea of replacing missing or no-longer-functioning body parts. In the final scene of 1980’s Star Wars movie The Empire Strikes Back, for example, Luke Skywalker receives an indistinguishably lifelike prosthetic hand from a fussy medical droid. Now, we are closer to realizing that vision than ever before (although, likely without the fussiness).
Over the past decade, medical professionals and researchers have adopted additive manufacturing technologies, more commonly known as 3D printing, to make great strides in their respective fields. The process has been used to create prosthetics, custom orthopedic implants, patient-specific anatomical models and surgical cutting guides. And as researchers and bioengineers busy themselves with expanding the realm of possible applications, surgeons and doctors have begun to use the technology at the point of care.
For many, it has proven to be an invaluable tool.
