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I came across this story today. Surgeons in the Netherlands have used a 3D printer to create a new jaw bone for a patient suffering froma bone infection.
Rather than subject the patient to dangerous reconstructive surgery, the doctors designed a new jaw bone in 3D. Â It's a complex shape, but 3D printing allowed the surgeons to design the new bone to include articulated joints, areas to encourage the re-growth of muscle and features to house nerves and blood vessels.
Once designed in 3D, the files were sent to Dutch company LayerWise who created the bone from Titanium powder. Â The bone has been created layer by layer, adding a small amount of material that then is heated with a laser to fuse the material before repeating for the next layer. Â The final finish was created by adding a bioceramic coating.
The full story reads like something out of science fiction, but the applications for this technology must be nearly limitless. Â 3D printing (or "additive manufacturing" to give it the proper name) has really come of age.
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