Medicine has already benefited immensely from the advances and technologies of additive manufacturing in recent years. This is also proven by the following example: Engineers and medical doctors from the medical faculty of the Otto von Guericke University in Magdeburg recently succeeded in producing a thorax using 3D printing. Manufactured from real patient data and additively, the model is not only ideal for students, but also for the entire thoracic surgery as an optimal training model. The project was implemented together with the Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Quality Assurance of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.
Medicine has managed to take advantage of today’s innovations. Many improvements have already been made in the entire medical field. From individual therapies to extensive and large operations and transplants – the possibilities offered by 3D printing in particular have been taken into account. Today, not only is the number of lung cancer cases increasing, but also the number of lung surgeries every year. Germany-wide find annually estimated 50,000 operations instead, which must be carried out on the lungs. In addition, the thorax, with its bony armor made of ribs, breastbone and spine, houses many sensitive organs. Mistakes here can be fatal. However, in order to prepare the entire medical staff as best as possible for such interventions, the realistic Magdeburg thorax model represents an innovative training object.
This is what a 3D printed thorax model can look like (Image: JCab)
The manufacture of the 3D printed thorax
Prof. Dr. medical Thorsten Walles, head of thoracic surgery and co-initiator of the thorax model, explains that chest surgery in medicine requires a high level of psychomotor skills. However, due to the lack of models in medicine, these skills are difficult to learn outside of the surgical area. However, thanks to the Magdeburg thorax model from the 3D printer, this problem could soon be a thing of the past. With a scale of 1:1, the additively manufactured thorax represents an exact copy of the human chest and originally comes from anonymized patient data from computer tomographs. The thorax, which measures 50×40 centimetres, is also supplemented with all the organs in the chest. In addition, it is rounded off by a stable outer shell, which depicts the exact muscle and soft tissue coat of a patient.
The thorax was manufactured by Fabian Laufer, research associate at the Institute of Manufacturing Technology and Quality Assurance, and his team. The patient data provided were entered into a computer for further processing. This data was then processed and decomposed using various software solutions before finally being sent to the 3D printer. The print was made with an FFF device from the manufacturer Creality. A resistant plastic (PETG) was used to print the thorax model, which can also be disinfected.
The thorax model has already been presented at a number of medical trade fairs and has already received great compliments. The first companies have already used the thorax model for medical-technical demonstration or application purposes. The engineer Fabian Laufer also explains that further models are already being planned: a smaller, “female” chest as well as a “child’s” chest are planned. Overall, Laufer is of the opinion that additive manufacturing will make it possible to produce more individual customer requests for medicine in the future. So the thorax is just the beginning. You can find out more about the thorax from the 3D printer at the University of Magdeburg HERE.
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*Cover photo credit: Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
