Close Menu
AM ChronicleAM Chronicle
  • Content
    • News
    • Insights
    • Case Studies
    • AM Infocast
  • Focus Regions
    • India
    • Asia Pacific
    • Middle East
    • North America
    • Europe
  • Industries
    • Automotive
    • Aerospace
    • Defence
    • Energy
    • Construction
    • Healthcare
    • Tooling
    • Engineering
  • Training
  • Magazine
    • Digital Issues
    • Print Subscription
  • Events
Facebook Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
  • About us
  • Media Kit
  • Contact us
Facebook Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
AM ChronicleAM Chronicle
  • Content
    1. News
    2. Insights
    3. Case Studies
    4. AM Infocast
    5. View All
    Velo3D enters CRADA with NAVAIR to Advance Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace and Defense Applications, Credits: Velo3d

    Velo3D enters CRADA with NAVAIR to Advance Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace and Defense Applications

    June 5, 2025
    Novel Magnetic 3D-Printed Pen

    Novel Magnetic 3D-Printed Pen Can be A Promising Diagnostic Tool for Early-Stage Parkinson’s Disease

    June 3, 2025
    Caption:Researchers have developed a resin that turns into two different kinds of solids, depending on the type of light that shines on it: Ultraviolet light cures the resin into a highly resilient solid, while visible light turns the same resin into a solid that is easily dissolvable in certain solvents. Credits:Credit: Courtesy of the researchers; MIT News

    New 3D printing method by MIT enables complex designs and creates less waste

    June 3, 2025
    NAMI Partners with Ministry to Launch Saudi Arabia’s Advanced Manufacturing Centre

    NAMI Partners with Ministry to Launch Saudi Arabia’s Advanced Manufacturing Centre

    May 30, 2025
    Revopoint Trackit Now on Kickstarter: Marker-free 3D Scans Within Everyone's Reach!

    Revopoint Trackit Now on Kickstarter: Marker-free 3D Scans Within Everyone’s Reach!

    May 28, 2025
    Credits: Outokumpu

    Outokumpu launches stainless steel metal powder in additive manufacturing for aerospace and aviation industry applications

    May 22, 2025
    Why Bioprinting Innovations can elevate healthcare and industrial AM

    Why Bioprinting Innovations can elevate healthcare and industrial AM

    May 21, 2025
    Why Additive Manufacturing Excels in Some Applications but Fails in Others?

    Why Additive Manufacturing Excels in Some Applications but Fails in Others?

    May 21, 2025
    Formlabs fuse 1+

    How Imaginarium Helped Kaash Studio Scale with the Right 3D Printing Technology

    April 12, 2025
    The Formlabs Fuse 1+ 30W

    Kaash Studio Optimized Service Bureau Operations with Formlabs 3D Printers- Case Study

    January 30, 2025
    Namthaja Unveils Worlds First 3D Printed Marine Gangway

    Worlds First 3D Printed Marine Gangway unveiled by Namthaja

    August 8, 2024
    RusselSmith Material Performance Improvement Whitepaper

    RusselSmith Whitepaper : Improving Material Performance with Microstructural Refinement

    May 9, 2024
    Sustainable Production of Metal Powder for Additive Manufacturing

    Sustainable Production of Metal Powder for Additive Manufacturing with Bruce Bradshaw

    February 15, 2024
    Meeting Evolving Customer Demands in the Additive Manufacturing Industry with Tyler Reid

    Meeting Evolving Customer Demands in the Additive Manufacturing Industry with Tyler Reid

    February 9, 2024
    Innovation is at the heart of AMUG with Diana Kalisz

    Innovation is at the heart of AMUG with Diana Kalisz

    March 7, 2023
    3D Printing Workshops at AMUG with Edward Graham

    3D Printing Workshops at AMUG with Edward Graham

    March 7, 2023
    Velo3D enters CRADA with NAVAIR to Advance Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace and Defense Applications, Credits: Velo3d

    Velo3D enters CRADA with NAVAIR to Advance Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace and Defense Applications

    June 5, 2025
    New 3D Printing Technology Enables Dual-Material Creation from Single Resin

    New 3D Printing Technology Enables Dual-Material Creation from Single Resin

    June 5, 2025
    Novel Magnetic 3D-Printed Pen

    Novel Magnetic 3D-Printed Pen Can be A Promising Diagnostic Tool for Early-Stage Parkinson’s Disease

    June 3, 2025
    Caption:Researchers have developed a resin that turns into two different kinds of solids, depending on the type of light that shines on it: Ultraviolet light cures the resin into a highly resilient solid, while visible light turns the same resin into a solid that is easily dissolvable in certain solvents. Credits:Credit: Courtesy of the researchers; MIT News

    New 3D printing method by MIT enables complex designs and creates less waste

    June 3, 2025
  • Focus Regions
    • India
    • Asia Pacific
    • Middle East
    • North America
    • Europe
  • Industries
    • Automotive
    • Aerospace
    • Defence
    • Energy
    • Construction
    • Healthcare
    • Tooling
    • Engineering
  • Training
  • Magazine
    • Digital Issues
    • Print Subscription
  • Events
Subscribe
AM ChronicleAM Chronicle
Home » News

NYU Surgeons Create Realistic 3D Printed Masks for Facial Transplant Donors and Their Families

News By AM Chronicle Editorial TeamJanuary 8, 20185 Mins Read
3D printed facial mask
The mask is made of hard plastic but captures the subtleties of a flesh and blood face.
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Pinterest Email Copy Link

NYU Langone logoTypically, deceased facial donors have only been able to receive a silicone mask, cast from a mold, with painted features as a replacement face. But a lifelike 3D printed facial mask offers far more accuracy, which is important for the family and friends of the deceased.

Even if you check the organ donor box on your driver’s license, families must give surgeons direct permission to remove a person’s face; as this can be an incredibly difficult decision to make, the list of possible donors is limited. That’s why the NYU Langone surgeons are hopeful that a more accurate 3D printed facial replacement will encourage more people to agree to donate the faces of their dying family members for transplant purposes.According to transplant procurement groups, asking a family to remove their loved one’s face is akin to an additional loss, on top of their death. But for the small pool of candidates in need of a facial transplant, every second counts, so the faster the decision can be made, the better. Helen Irving, the president of the LiveOnNY network which matches organ donors and recipients together, explained that a more accurate 3D printed mask could “make the donation journey more comfortable, and perhaps a bit easier, for the loved ones of donors.”

Eduardo Rodriguez
Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez. [Image: NYU Langone]


Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, Director of NYU Langone’s face transplant program, said, “Maybe a silicone mask approximates 75 percent accuracy. A 3-D printed mask can approximate 95 percent.”

It all started back in 2015, when Dr. Rodriguez performed an extensive full face transplant, with the help of 3D printed surgical planning models, on former Mississippi firefighter Patrick Hardison. Hardison’s face had melted off in a mobile home fire, and he had been on the transplant waiting list for over a year. According to New York Magazine, one family had withdrawn their consent to donate their child’s face at the last minute, but the family of 26-year-old Brooklyn bicycle mechanic David Rodebaugh, comatose after a cycling accident, later agreed.

They asked Dr. Rodriguez before the operation what his body would look like after, and he told them about the silicone mask, as well as its limitations in accuracy, but they still said yes.

Dr. Rodriguez said, “Their primary focus was to see their son help out as many people as possible.”

Knowing how hard it must be to agree to such a procedure, he set out to make a better 3D printed face replica mask in order to show appreciation for the family’s decision and sacrifice.

Dr. Rodriguez said, “We try to respect the dignity of an individual who gave up his face or her face.”

Here’s how the process works – when a brain-dead person, whose family has consented to a facial transplant, comes into the NYU Langone Medical Center’s plastic surgery department, a technician uses a handheld scanner to slowly scan the donor’s face, using five camera lenses to capture every detail and contour from several angles. Recently, NYU Langone administrator Leslie Bernstein had her face scanned in order to make a 3D printed demonstration mask. The scanner is able to build a 3D map from a grid projected onto the donor’s face, and technicians at NYU’s 3D printing center, LaGuardia Studio, will then tweak the files on computers in what the studio’s manager Andrew Buckland calls “the equivalent of spot-touching your print.” The files are then sent to a large 3D printer, which uses acrylic-based photopolymer to print the face.

3D facial scan
With each pass of the scanner over the subject’s face, the image grows more detailed.

LaGuardia Studio usually 3D prints arts and engineering projects, but the facial replica 3D printing process is basically the same process, but performed faster, as the donor’s body needs to be released to the family quickly once their face has been removed and attached to the transplant recipient.

Buckland explained, “We’re essentially condensing what we like to do in two weeks into 36 hours.”

It can take the 3D printer over 24 hours to lay down the thousands of layers required to make the face, but it’s worth it when you see the hard, realistic plastic mask. Even the lower resolution mask of Bernstein’s face was able to capture tiny variations in texture, reflectivity, and color.

Buckland said, “With a higher-res version, you would literally see the pores.”

The studio technicians then rush the mask to NYU Langone, where Dr. Rodriguez is waiting with the donor, whose face and other organs were removed while they were still on life support, in an effort to, as he puts it, “procure the face while it is still being perfused by a beating heart.”

Once the donor has passed away, the mask is placed on top of their “stripped face,” and the seam where it meets the skin or hairline is respectfully covered with a bandage, just like an incision with a sterile cover.

Each time, the goal is make a replica of the donor’s face, using 3D printing and scanning technology, that so accurately resembles their face that the family feels comfortable enough to use it for burial, or even open casket funerals.

AM Chronicle
AM Chronicle Editorial Team

The AM Chronicle Editorial Team is a collective of passionate individuals committed to delivering insightful, accurate and engaging stories to additive manufacturing audiences worldwide.

3d print india 3d printing india 3d printing industry 3dprint.com 3DPrinting additive manufacturing Healthcare Medical NYU
AM Chronicle Editorial Team

The AM Chronicle Editorial Team is a collective of passionate individuals committed to delivering insightful, accurate and engaging stories to additive manufacturing audiences worldwide.

LATEST FROM AM
Velo3D enters CRADA with NAVAIR to Advance Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace and Defense Applications, Credits: Velo3d News

Velo3D enters CRADA with NAVAIR to Advance Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace and Defense Applications

June 5, 20252 Mins Read
New 3D Printing Technology Enables Dual-Material Creation from Single Resin Uncategorized

New 3D Printing Technology Enables Dual-Material Creation from Single Resin

June 5, 20251 Min Read
Novel Magnetic 3D-Printed Pen News

Novel Magnetic 3D-Printed Pen Can be A Promising Diagnostic Tool for Early-Stage Parkinson’s Disease

June 3, 20253 Mins Read

CONNECT WITH US

  • 126 A, Dhuruwadi, A. V. Nagvekar Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai 400025
  • [email protected]
  • +91 022 24306319
Facebook Instagram YouTube LinkedIn

Newsletter

Subscribe to the AM Chronicle mailer to receive latest tech updates and insights from global industry experts.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Quick Links

  • News
  • Insights
  • Case Studies
  • AM Training
  • AM Infocast
  • AM Magazine
  • Events

Media

  • Advertise with us
  • Sponsored Articles
  • Media Kit

Events

  • AM Conclave 2025
    24-25 September 2025 | ADNEC, Abu Dhabi
  • AMTECH 2025
    3-4 December 2025 | KTPO, Whitefield, Bengaluru
CNT Expositions & Services LLP
© 2025 CNT Expositions & Services LLP.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.



0 / 75