3D Printing has been established as a game changing technology in the field of Healthcare, where it enables more patient-specific treatments. With the image processing and visualisation capabilities of advanced software, it is now possible to covert the data from CT and MRI scans into digital 3D models, and subsequently into physical parts using the technology of 3D Printing. These anatomical models are clinically accurate replicas of the patient anatomy and help provide the clinicians with a 3D visualisation of the patient condition before surgery. These anatomical models can be further designed upon, to create customized medical devices, such as surgical guides and customized implants. Since every patient anatomy is different, such a patient-specific approach has proven to improve clinical outcomes and reduce surgical time.
AM Chronicle also organised a Webinar on Medical 3D Printing – Opportunities and Challenges where I shared the importance of 3D Printing point of care labs in Hospitals. Do listen to the whole conversation on the AM Chronicle youtube channel
To fully utilize 3D printing in medical applications, it is important that it is happening at the point of care within a hospital, where it is easily accessible to all clinicians. Such a lab set-up also encourages medical innovation at the heart of its applications. Setting up and running such an initiative requires knowledge of the entire workflow, starting from image acquisition, image segmentation, 3D modelling & design and 3D Printing & post-processing. It also requires understanding how this can be well integrated in a hospital, involving a number of stakeholders, such as Hospital management, Radiologists, Clinicians, IT, Billing, etc.
Also, as of today, a majority of the students and practitioners gain their experience by practicing on cadavers or on live patients. This leads to a variation in learning the same anatomy or surgical technique, as no two cadavers and no two patient conditions are the same. Furthermore, it is not only difficult to acquire cadavers, but also impossible for multiple people to learn and practice on the anatomy individually and perfect themselves. It is important that the upcoming medical talent across the world learns under real-time conditions in order to be prepared for different situations and provide care with precision without having to put the patient at risk during their training. A POC center will allow, not only innovation in surgical techniques, but will also allow its easy dispersion across peers, increase access to complex cases and their accelerated training on their treatment solutions.
Anatomiz3D is a one-stop design and manufacturing solution provider for customized medical products. Using the technology of 3D modelling and 3D printing we create anatomical models, pre-surgical guides, customized implants & implant molds. Being the first in India to have introduced and mastered soft tissue modelling for 3D Printing, we have a vast case library covering all specialties, along with multiple in-house developed products (Patent pending) and quick COVID-19 Patient and Healthcare workers protection products, along with published white papers, and extended offices around the globe. We are consultants, trainers and partners to individuals, service providers, OEMs and other stakeholders in the industry who are in or want to explore the medical field. With our POC module (Point of Care Centers) we also help or ourselves establish an entire process flow for hospital 3D printing labs, along with providing back-end support for end to end solutions. In the education and training space, we have curated an entire library of complex defects anatomy and normal anatomy, which can also be very useful for training of specific techniques in workshops to ensure repeatability.
With our extensive experience in this field, we are able to consult hospitals on setting up 3D Printing labs in-house, and make this technology a standard of care. This involves analyzing the requirements of the hospital, setting up the appropriate hardware and software, providing training and consultancy for effectively running the lab, and integrating this with all hospitals elements. This enables the technology to be easily accessible for clinicians to use in their daily practice.
Key Advantages
- Makes 3D Printing easily accessible for regular use in clinical practice
- Real-time clinical feedback
- Reduces lead time and cost compared to outsourcing of such services
- Enables clinicians to freely innovate and realize new ideas and products
- Reduced OT time – leading to more surgeries and reduced waiting time
- Improved surgical outcomes – raising the standard of healthcare
- Adds to a hospital’s brand value of being an advanced healthcare centre
- Accelerated education and training of peers.
