Many of you might be familiar with 3D printers. According to the scion of knowledge Wikipedia “additive manufacturing or 3D printing is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. 3D printing is achieved using an additive process, where successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes. 3D printing is also considered distinct from traditional machining techniques, which mostly rely on the removal of material by methods such as cutting or drilling (subtractive processes).”
Not surprisingly some enterprising souls have made forays into potential medical applications. Following up on work to 3D print simple cell layers and blood vessels, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have been experimenting with using 3D printers to make a liver that could be used for transplants.
Closer to home (for me in the ED at least) are efforts to use 3D printers to make custom molded casts. Jake Evill, a designer came up with an application to 3D print a support matrix for fracture patients he calls Cortex.
It looks kind of sci-fi, but more breathable and comfortable than plaster or fiberglass. Check out this article from Design Taxi for more thoughts.
