Successful Stories of 3D Printing in Healthcare Applications: A Brief Review

Abstract

3D printing is extensively being used, nowadays, for mass customization and fabrication of complex products with different shape, size, and functionality behaviour. This led to the emergence of 3D printing in several medical applications such as tissue engineering, organ regeneration, prosthetic fabrication and customization, anatomical model construction, pharmaceutical investigations, and bioelectronics products. In this chapter, few successful stories of 3D printed products in biomedical domain are systematically reviewed and outlined. At first, the foundation of 3D printing and its processes are briefly introduced with appropriate set of examples. Thereafter, five subdomains, namely, tissue and organ generation, prosthesis fabrication, medical education, surgical planning, drug delivery and bioelectronics are considered to review the successful product developments in the healthcare sector. The flexibility of 3D bioprinting to print biocompatible products is observed at many places. Furthermore, the advantages, limitations, and future opportunities regarding use of 3D printing in medical sector are briefly discussed. At last, the contribution of this work is presented with the concluding remarks. This review will serve enthusiastic researchers to understand the true potential of 3D printing in healthcare applications.