Woman Receives The World's First 3D-Printed Skull
Aaron Wright
September 18, 2014
I've written in past blog posts that 3D printing will be one of the 6 technologies that will change the world over the next few decades. The power to print physical objects very cheaply has many different applications. One perfect example is a recent breakthrough from the Netherlands, where a patient has received a 3D-printed skull.
The 22-year old woman had a condition that was causing the bones in her skull to thicken. I was unable to find out the name of this condition, but the thickening of the skull was putting pressure on her brain. This was causing severe headaches, vision loss, and was beginning to result in loss of motor control. If left untreated, it would have eventually killed her.
Previously, there was no treatment for this condition. But Dr. Bon Verweij of the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht -- with assistance from an Australian company called Anatomics -- was able to use a 3D printer to create a replacement skull that fit the exact specifications needed. After a 23 hour surgery, the patient's skull was replaced with the plastic one. The video below shows the operation in progress. (Note: Don't watch it if blood makes you uncomfortable).
Dr. Verweij has already used 3D printers in the past for other operations. For example, sometimes after an accident or other problems, the brain swells up, putting pressure on the brain and possibly leading to damage. To fix that, doctors will remove part of the skull, creating more room for the brain to swell. Once the swelling goes down, the hole in the skull is filled back in. Typically, they use a special type of cement, but those replacements often don't have a good fit because they had to be created by hand. In the past, Dr. Verweij has successfully used 3D printers to create those replacements. Using knowledge gained from that, the next step was to create an entire skull. Now, three months after the operation, they are declaring the operation to be successful. The patient has regained her vision and is back at work.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of what 3D printers could do for health care. The same technique used to create a skull could also be used to create other replacement bones that are deformed due to medical conditions or damage caused by accidents. There are even multiple teams working on using 3D printers to print entire organs. Advancements like these will revolutionize medical care, giving doctors the ability to help more people.
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A Woman Has Been Given A New 3D Printed Skull
March 26, 2014 | by Justine Alford
Photo credit: UMC Utrecht
A team from the University Medical Centre, Utrecht. have made medical history by successfully replacing a woman's entire skull with a plastic one made by a 3D printer.
The 22-year old woman was suffering from a condition where her skull started thickening, and had reached nearly 3 times the thickness of a normal human skull. The team decided to use a plastic skull because conventional methods are often less than perfect. Neurologist Ben Verweij who led the team said that the woman is recovering well from the procedure which took place 3 months ago, and is not suffering any symptoms. "Using 3D printing we can make one that's the exact size. This not only has great cosmetic advantages, but patients' brain function often recovers better than using the old method" he added.
This technique can be used in patients who have problems with other bones and to repair skull damage. Although parts of skulls have been replaced using 3D printing before, never has this been done with an entire skull. It's very exciting news.
If you would like to see what happened, check out this YouTube video from the hospital. Unfortunately it is in Dutch, not English, but there are translations in the comment section .
Watch a woman get a 3D-printed skull
The plastic skull is readied for implantation. Video screenshot by Michael Franco/CNET An entire human cranium can now be added to the growing list of 3D-printed body parts that includes a fingertip. a hand. prosthetic eyes. arms. a jaw. and even a new foot for a duck .
The plastic skull was made by an Australian firm and placed on the brain of a Dutch woman at Utrecht University's University Medical Center in the Netherlands. The operation, which lasted 23 hours, took place about three months ago, and Dutch News just reported that the patient has returned to work -- plastic noggin and all.
"The patient has her sight back entirely, is symptom-free, is back to work, and it is almost impossible to see that she's ever had surgery," lead neurologist Ben Verweij said in a statement.
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Prior to the procedure, the woman's skull was more than three times thicker than a normal skull due to a rare condition. The increased thickness caused the woman's skull to press on her brain, leading to severe headaches and vision loss. Although the report doesn't name the condition, Camurati-Engelmann disease is among the ailments that can cause skull bones to thicken.
"Implants used to be made by hand in the operating theater using a sort of cement which was far from ideal," Verweij said of the procedure, according to Dutch News. "Using 3D printing we can make one to the exact size. This not only has great cosmetic advantages, but patients' brain function often recovers better than using the old method."
Verweiji says that although portions of skulls have been swapped out in the past, this is the first time an entire cranium has been replaced in a patient. And I bet this is the first time you've ever seen a plastic skull get attached to a real live brain. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
МФУ, принтеры, копиры
Разрешение принтера по X (ч/б) ?
Разрешение принтера по X (ч/б)
Максимальное разрешение принтера по горизонтали в режиме черно-белой печати.
Этот параметр определяется как количество точек на один дюйм (dpi) по горизонтали, которое способен воспроизводить принтер/МФУ.
При печати текста этот показатель слабо влияет на качество отпечатка, но при изображении графики разрешение имеет большое значение.
Максимальное разрешение принтера по вертикали в режиме черно-белой печати.
Этот параметр определяется как количество точек на один дюйм (dpi) по вертикали, которое способен воспроизводить принтер/МФУ.
При печати текста этот показатель слабо влияет на качество отпечатка, но при изображении графики разрешение имеет большое значение.
Максимальное разрешение принтера по горизонтали в режиме цветной печати.
Этот параметр определяется как количество точек на один дюйм (dpi) по горизонтали, которое способен воспроизводить принтер/МФУ.
При печати текста этот показатель слабо влияет на качество отпечатка, но при изображении графики разрешение имеет большое значение.
Максимальное разрешение принтера по вертикали в режиме цветной печати.
Этот параметр определяется как количество точек на один дюйм (dpi) по вертикали, которое способен воспроизводить принтер/МФУ.
При печати текста этот показатель слабо влияет на качество отпечатка, но при изображении графики разрешение имеет большое значение.
Максимальное число страниц формата A4, которое способно напечатать устройство в режиме черно-белой печати за одну минуту. Скорость печати формата А4 в черно-белом режиме является основным параметром для сравнения производительности принтеров. Обычно указывается скорость печати в черновом режиме, с наихудшим качеством.
Максимальное число страниц формата A4, которое способно напечатать устройство в режиме цветной печати за одну минуту. Обычно указывается скорость печати в черновом режиме, с наихудшим качеством.
Максимальное число страниц формата A3, которое способно напечатать устройство в режиме черно-белой печати за одну минуту. Обычно указывается скорость печати в черновом режиме, с наихудшим качеством.
Woman gets 3D-printed skull
Last updated: 12 September 2014, 12:35 BST
A woman from the Netherlands has had her entire skull replaced with a plastic part created using a 3D printer.
The 22-year-old suffered from a thickening of the skull, leading to loss of her eyesight and the onset of motor coordination impairment. Without the surgery, eventually she would have died.
In a world first, Dr Bon Verweij from the University Media Centre (UMC) performed the mammoth 23-hour operation to replace her skull with a 3D-printed implant.
Traditionally skull implants are made by hand using a type of cement, but using a 3D printer enables each component to be printed to the individual’s exact requirements.
“This has major advantages, not only cosmetically but also because patients often have better brain function compared with the old method,” said Dr Verweij.
The revolutionary skull was made with the help of Anatomics, an Australian company that provides custom-made implants for medical use.
Three months after the operation, the patient’s life has been transformed.
"She has fully regained her vision, she has no more complaints, she's gone back to work and there are almost no traces that she had any surgery at all,” Dr Verweij revealed.
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