The quest to 3D print body parts

Abstract

From engineering and manufacturing to art and education, 3D printing is helping to drive innovation in many different fields. Medicine is no exception. The technology is being used to print prosthetic limbs and to fabricate patient-specific models of body parts for surgeons to use as guides during reconstructive surgery. A 3D printed titanium jawbone has been implanted in a patient, as has a tailor-made, bioresorbable tracheal splint that saved a baby's life.