Star Trek Becomes Reality in the Medical Profession!
Returning from an epic battle against the Klingons, Deanna Troi rushes to sickbay while holding her injured side. When she enters, her eyes widen. Jean-Luc Picard is sitting on a bio-bed. His right arm gone, having been completely severed by a Klingon bat'leth. “Don’t worry Captain,” says the doctor next to him. “When I’m done with the replacement, the fans won’t even know the difference.”
Science fiction has officially lept off the page as the 3D printer becomes an official instrument for the medical industry in prosthetics production and other advances!
What seems to only supposed to be found in futuristic movies has materialised into reality, even becoming more advanced. First developed by American engineer Charles Hall in the 1980s, the 3D Printer produces three dimensional successive layers that form solid objects. Acrylic liquid is used as “ink” that turns solid after exposure to an ultraviolet laser beam. It is possible to print in plastics, silver, gold, other metals, ceramics, wax, and food! At a push of a button, anyone has the option of printing jewelry, car parts, pizza, and much more.
This new technology is spreading into the medical device world like a wildfire. 3D printers are being used more often. Professionals worldwide are preforming medical procedures involving 3D printed materials. Align Technology prints 650,000 pairs of teeth-straightening braces everyday. Patients have received custom prosthetics that were designed and printed to exact individual specifications. 3D printers have produced casts that allow people to scratch through them and back braces for scoliosis patients. But what's even more mind-blowing is the possibility of organ printing. Organ printing is new in development and once perfected will end the lethal waiting lists for those waiting for organ donations. While bioprinting a whole organ is not yet achieved, Organovo, a research company in California, has successfully printed human liver tissue. Soon, it will be possible to print organs from the patient’s own stem cells, eliminating risks of rejection and long life drug dependence.
While 3D medical printers were originally aimed to help the human body by producing simple instruments, 3D printed products are being slipped into the human body. In January 2014, surgeons in Wales reconstructed the cheekbone, eye sockets, upper jaw, and skull of twenty-nine-year-old Stephan Power. Using a 3D printer, they successfully implanted a titanium replica of his facial bones.
Much like the replicator found on Federation star ships in Star Trek, 3D printers are allowing for the creation of multiple materials with the push of a button. Few South Africans know about the life saving abilities of this common house appliance.
REFERENCES
Groopman, J. (2014). PRINT THYSELF. [Online] Available at: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/24/print-thyself [Accessed on16 May 2017].
Independent Institute of Education (2017). JRNS 6211 Module Guide. Johannesburg: the IIE Publishers. [Online] Available at: https://portal.iie.ac.za/Student%20Manuals/JRNS6211_%20Journalism_2/2017/STManual.pdf [Accessed 16 May 2017]
Kotler, S. (2013). 5 Medical Technologies Revolutionizing Healthcare. [Online] Available at Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenkotler/2013/12/19/5-medical-technologies-revolutionizing-healthcare/#63d05c7e46e2 [Accessed 16 May 2017]
