A titanium jaw, made to order
Posted 02.06.2012 at 1:57 pm
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3-D Printed Jaw The 3-D printed lower jaw was coated with a biocompatible ceramic, and surgeons added a secondary structure to support false teeth.
LayerWise
A European octogenarian is the recipient of the first-ever 3-D printed jawbone, made of titanium powder that was sintered together one layer at a time. The recipient regained her ability to speak a few hours after the surgery, Belgian doctors said Monday. It could pave the way for a new wave of 3-D printed body parts — maybe not full organs yet, but certainly bones or joints.
The 83-year-old patient who received the implant had developed a chronic bone infection in almost her entire lower mandible, and doctors removed it rather than risk reconstructive surgery, according to LayerWise, the Belgian company that built the new jawbone. Doctors and 3-D printing engineers designed an entirely new jawbone to fit the patient.
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Technology, Rebecca Boyle, 3-D printing, face transplants, future of 3-d printing, implantable machines, jawbone, medical gadgets, transplantsOnce the team designed the jaw, it was just a matter of sintering it together, according to LayerWise. A high-precision laser heated titanium powder particles to melt them together in successive layers. It took 33 layers to build just one millimeter, so the whole jaw consists of thousands of layers, BBC reported. Doctors coated the jaw in a biocompatible ceramic layer and attached it to the woman’s face in a four-hour surgery. That’s one-fifth the time it would have taken to perform a reconstructive surgery using the patient’s own mouthparts, BBC said. It weighs 107 grams, which is one-third heavier than her previous jaw, but doctors said she’ll be able to get used to it.
Doctors performed the surgery last summer in the Netherlands but it was announced today. "Shortly after waking up from the anesthetics the patient spoke a few words, and the day after, the patient was able to speak and swallow normally again," said Dr. Jules Poukens of Hasselt University, who led the surgical team. The woman went home after just four days.
She has to have follow-up surgery to attach a dental bridge and some false teeth, the BBC said.
[via Engadget]
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Finally some movement in this domain ^^ !!
science have 2 major issues to deal with...
1. body rejections
2. space radiations
i hope i will see one of those go away one day soon ^^
anyway... i want a full skeleton transplant please
(Wolverine... yeah ^^)
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bored? lets go mine the stars... ^^
PS: the jaw is pretty cool looking too ^^ (with brand name and stuff ^^)
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bored? lets go mine the stars... ^^
This is a fine example of how humans are becoming more like machine.
@ILS
yep ^^ the more pressision we get, the better we can imitate the mother nature ^^
(i dont mind be a machine: Random Ex: if i had to chose to transplant me with somebodys arm or a custom made one, ill defenetly go with the second choice)
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bored? lets go mine the stars... ^^
A 5 hour operation rather than having to do a 20-hour surgical reconstruction probably meant the difference between the patient surviving or not, especially with an 83 year old.
The article should have mentioned that this titanium laser sintering is routinely used for producing bone implants for joint replacements.
These 3D metal printers will always be an expensive way of producing an implant, though the implant will be very strong.
What is needed is a bio-compatible plastic that can be printed using a much cheaper 3D printer.
The T1000's are not far behind, people!
I had a knee replaced at 35. Being a skilled tradesman, my choices were to sit down and quit because of the pain, learn a new trade, or adapt to the limitations of the new knee joint. I chose the latter and have worked 17 more years but am now needing a replacement for the replacement to be replaced.
The chrome cobalt implant - still the favored material in knee joint prosthetics - reduced a degree of rotational motion in the knee joint. The result was accelerated wear.
Having the replacement parts custom designed and printed for MY physiology would have reduced the amount of good bone and tissue sacrificed for the original implant, speeding healing, lessening the pain involved and providing longer joint life.
Wear and tear caused by loss of original joint movement could have easily meant no replacement surgery for the replacement - something ANY TKR patient could appreciate.
@NOM
yeah something that mimics bones but is much stronger would work better. but titanium means that it wont break that easily. imagine a boxer having his entire face reconstructed using titanium, he would be unstoppable. not only his face but also his entire fist? forget steroid abuse, this is the future advantage in sports.
"religion is like a prison for the seekers of wisdom"
-Killah Priest
Kool!
I need a toe bone.
This technology is definitely a gateway to the future of prosthetics. I am a Biomedical Engineering undergrad right now, and I am looking toward going into this field. Hopefully I'll be able to work with this kind of technology to help improve some lives!