There is no one size fits all in additive manufacturing. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the medical industry where every patient and case is different. So, shouldn’t the technology be different, also? That theory was the guiding light when Stratasys set out to establish its Medical Solutions group back in 2015.
“Up until that time people used whatever Stratasys had as a generic product, a printer, a material, and they just utilised it for the medical industry,” Ido Bitan, Director of Product Management at Stratasys Medical Solutions Department told TCT. “Ever since the Medical department was incepted, we made a major transition.”
Over the last ten years, the additive manufacturing (AM) company has worked with users across the medical industry, from device companies to hospitals and universities, to identify their needs, the technology gaps, and application opportunities for medical devices, surgical aids, and lifelike anatomical models.
“We always try to push the envelope and do things that are out of the ordinary,” says Bitan.
Medical is about people, and often, that can mean life or death. That plays “a dramatic role” in its innovation roadmap, according to Bitan. Its medical models, printed using its PolyJet technology in unique material combinations that vary in softness, flexibility and density to mimic the human body, are being deployed in complex pre-surgical planning and realistic scenarios for surgical training. Today, Stratasys offers the only 3D printing solution that provides a biomechanical report to show that its printed models, created using patient data, behave bio-mechanically like the real thing.
"We made a lot of effort to make sure that, first of all, we can print materials that are softer, which was a challenging project on its own, but it wasn't enough just to say, it kind of feels the same,” Bitan explained. “We actually created, in collaboration with industry leaders, reports that show their resemblance to cadaveric tissues and 'iterature values to the measured values from the printed models. We've proven two things. First of all, that our models behave bio-mechanically like the real tissues. And the second thing is that the results are very consistent and repeatable, which is something that you don't get from a cadaver.”
With models that behaved like the human body, the next request was to explore how those models performed under imaging. In 2022, Stratasys introduced a new material for its Digital Anatomy 3D printers, making it possible to produce ‘radio-realistic models’ which are visible under CT scan or X-ray. RadioMatrix is described as the first radiopaque material and can be added to a 3D printed model and viewed under radiopacity values from -30 to 1000 Hounsfield Units (HU). Bitan says there’s already a library of ideas from customers, with one early use case from the manufacturers of CT machines, who were able to reduce their development times by printing pathologies and unique cases to test their ability to capture images or even reduce levels of radiation.
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Bitan explained: “You can do a study and then take a model, not a patient, scan it 500 times – different methods, different energy levels, different timings – and then see what is the best method to identify the pathology, but then reduce the amount of radiation exposure for the patient.”
Stratasys
Medical models on Stratasys J5 Digital Anatomy system
A recent study between Stratasys and CollPlant Biotechnologies looks to explore what is thought to be additive's next frontier: regenerative medicine. The companies are embarking on a pre-clinical study to develop a 3D bioprinting solution for regenerative breast implants, printed on an Origin system using rhCollagen-based bioinks, to test the implant's ability to promote natural tissue growth and completely degrade over time – resulting in real breast tissue.
“That's the future of 3D printing, in my opinion,” Bitan said. “It’s basically replacing the human body with the human body.”
It’s all about making an impact and one of the ways Stratasys is aiming to do that is by focusing on accessibility. At RAPID + TCT, the company launched the J5 Digital Anatomy 3D printer, designed for the production of life-like, patient-specific models that mimic the behaviour of real human tissue, skeletal structures and vasculature, but packaged in a machine that’s small, lightweight and can be placed in an office environment.
“I think for the medical industry, the number one factor in point of care is the accessibility,” Bitan said. “I think that everyone understands and knows that 3D printing, when it's used in a procedure, the outcome is going to be improved.”
This article originally appeared inside TCT Europe Edition Vol. 32 Issue 5. Subscribe here to receive your FREE print copy of TCT Magazine, delivered to your door six times a year.
