FRONTIERS PHOTONICS
LIFE SCIENCES/MEDICAL
In association with
LIFE SCIENCES/ MEDICAL
3D PRINTED LIMBS AND IMPLANTS
Additive manufacturing helps get medical devices to those in need
Laser-based 3D printers are allowing experts and amateurs alike to produce essential components for humanitarian purposes
A
s 3D printers become more affordable and easy to use, they are allowing medical devices such
as implants and prosthetic limbs to be supplied at speed to people who previously would not have had easy access – such as victims of war or people living in developing countries. At the end of 2022, American additive
manufacturing company Oxford Performance Materials (OPM) supplied 3D-printed custom implants to Ukrainian hospitals to address the influx of patients needing medical devices as a result of war- related injuries. OPM’s OsteoFab technology platform uses seelctive laser sintering (SLS) to produce implants from CT scan images or a preset design file. SLS is a 3D printing process that utilises a high-powered laser to selectively fuse powdered materials, layer by layer, according to a digital design. This technology enables the production of intricate and complex geometries with high accuracy and mechanical strength. Using a machine from EOS, OPM’s laser sintering process takes place in a biocompatible polymer powder. Purified compressed air is passed through a nitrogen generator that extracts nitrogen and uses it to blanket the build chamber during the lasing process. SLS offers numerous advantages over
traditional manufacturing methods, allowing for the creation of custom-made and highly functional prosthetics. For example, in implants where a
patient-specific part is needed (for example for a neck, face or skull implant) the development of the STL files (a file format used by 3D printers) begins with a CT scan
Stereolithography has also been used to 3D print dental prostheses 14 Photonics Frontiers 2023
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