14 DAY TRIAL // As we've mentioned a couple of times before, 3D printing is damn everywhere, but if there is something that really helps out people is probably medical applications.
Just like 3D printing managed to save a man from arthritis, the same way it can actually save a man's life by replacing his sternum and ribs with titanium-made 3D printed parts for a 54-year-old cancer patient.
Apparently, the sternum and ribcage aren't simple things to fix since they are based in a complex geometry that risks having the flat and plate implants that are usually used for this sort of surgeries in the chest can come loose over time, and there's nothing worse than having a half-arsed implanted material right next to your constantly moving lungs.
This is why the surgical team at Salamanca University Hospital in Spain built a custom 3D-printed implant that would fully help a man suffering from a chest wall sarcoma, a cancerous condition that grew around his rib cage and required partial removal of bone sections.
By using CT scans a couple of companies like Anatomics and CSIRO's Lab 22 worked together with the patient's surgical team to design an implant made out of titanium to fit perfectly in the patient's chest. Using its state of the art $920,000 Arcam electron beam metal 3D printer, the teams managed to put together the final implant model and have it shipped to Spain for surgery.
Finally, the operation was a success, and the patient was discharged from hospital 12 days later.
