The latest revolutionary cutting-edge technology of 3D printing has taken the world by storm and found its applications in almost all aspects of life. And, if creating a breakthrough in manufacturing was not enough, this technology has achieved yet another milestone in the medical field by going on to become a principal tool for precision medicine. As a new rapid prototyping and manufacturing technology, 3D printing has increasingly garnered attention of the mass, and also gained huge popularity among medical scholars. Precision, complexity, and customization are some of the most salient features of 3D printing technology.
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The “Orthopedic 3D printing laboratory”, jointly established by the Second People’s Hospital of Xiangzhou District and Print-Rite Unicorn Image Products Co., Ltd. of Zhuhai.,was unveiled on January 18, 2017, and marked the first orthopedic 3D printing laboratory in Zhuhai. The cooperation between Print-Rite Unicorn Image Products Co., Ltd and the Second People’s Hospital of Xiangzhou District is the result of organic integration of clinical applications and the R & D of production enterprises. It also symbolizes the advancement of orthopedics towards a new era in terms of digital technology.
“Fracture surgery was previously performed by means of a patient’s X-ray, but the drawback of X-ray mainly lies in its planarization,” said Zhong Botao, Vice President of the Second People’s Hospital of Xiangzhou District. 3D printing can deliver models in real size. 3D model of a real size part is built based on the data from three-dimensional CT reports of patients before the surgery, thus providing detailed information and visual experience to doctors and even patients. It has sound application prospects and high application value in terms of diagnosis of diseases, design of preoperative surgical planning, demonstration of preoperative surgical simulations, intraoperative assisted surgery and postoperative recovery.
Zhong added that 3D printing technology can also be applied to develop preoperative surgical guide the various complex fractures, severity of joint damage, etc. Doctors leverage 3D printing technology to formulate surgical programs, thereby designing surgical guide: they first determine the location of internal fixtures after fracture reduction, the orientation, length, and dimensions of screws as well as the required three-dimensional spacing. Surgeries are conducted entirely based on such guides, thus simplifying the surgical process, reducing the surgical trauma to patients and speeding up postoperative recovery.
Su Jianqiang, one of the directors on the board of Print-Rite Unicorn Image Products Co., Ltd. of Zhuhai, expressed that “we can produce solid objects of practically any size, shape or internal structure by using 3D printing. Thanks to this technology, patients can be now treated with ‘customized’ skeletal parts as required by their respective treatment, rather than purchasing products of fixed specifications. In other words, products required by patients in the future will be more customized for more accurate treatment. We will continue to explore and create a variety of 3D printing equipment and supplies for the benefit of the medical industry, to better enable printing of customized parts needed in treating patients.”
It is reported that Print-Rite, by virtue of being a pioneer in the world for manufacturing and selling generic printing supplies with 35-years of history, relies on proprietary patents and technical experience and brings together domestic and overseas experts to form the industry’s most professional R & D and business teams. It now boasts of 166 patents in the 3D industry. Meanwhile, they are totally oriented towards the development of 3D printing materials, and is committed to bring 3D solutions for various industries. In the future, it desires to enhance cooperation with more partners in the medical sector and become leader for3D holistic solutions in the field of medicine.
