An 83-year-old woman recently had her entire lower jaw replaced with a 3D printed replica.
Given the age of the patient, conventional surgery was too much of a risk. This is where 3D Printing came into play.
Performed by doctors from the University of Hasselt, Belgium, the surgery saw them replace the woman's original, badly infected jaw with a 3D-printed titanium and bioceramic version. The 3D Printer used additive manufacturing technique (laser sintering), a method that allows fabricators to make an item directly from a CAD drawing. Layers of titanium are built up and a laser used to fuse the correct particles together. The entire jaw line was coated in ceramic to make it compatible with bodily tissue. It weighs 3.7oz — only 1 ounce heavier than an actual jaw.
"The new treatment method is a world premiere because it concerns the first patient-specific implant in replacement of the entire lower jaw," Professor Dr. Jules Poukens, who was part of a team that worked on the implant, said in a statement.
The surgery was a great success - only one day after the procedure, the lady was able to talk and swallow.
About Us
As a leading Canadian 3D Printer Distribution Centre, 3D Printers Canada serves Canadian clients by providing the most leading edge and advanced plastic production 3D Printers for their prototyping and small run production needs. 3D Printers Canada goal is maintaining professional customer service as it's number one priority. Our employees have a high level of professionalism and expertise to ensure high quality service and business success.
Our team of Mechanical Engineers and Mechanical Engineering Technologists are fully trained with Objet's world’s greatest 3D prototyping machines and software that enables our customers to always be strategic and innovative. We are a dedicated team and are highly skilled at what we do. With the leading edge of 3D Printing Systems, we are competitively priced and always deliver quality products to our clients.
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Our Mission is to deliver advanced and robust 3D Printers to Canadian Product Development clients so they can speed up innovation and develop world class products. With our full line of unique 3D Printers which enables 3D CAD models to be built with amazing surface quality, highest accuracy/resolutions and with the world's only multi-material applications, which is second to none.
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