3d Printing And Bio Based Materials In Global Health

This book examines the potential to deploy low-cost, three-dimensional printers known as RepRaps in developing countries to fabricate surgical instruments and medical supplies to combat the “global surgical burden of disease.” Approximately two billion people in developing countries around the world lack access to essential surgical services, resulting in the avoidable deaths of millions of individuals each year. A fundamental barrier that inhibits access to surgical care in these locations is the lack of basic surgical instruments and supplies in healthcare facilities. RepRap printers are highly versatile 3D printers assembled from basic, domestically sourced materials that can fabricate low-cost surgical instruments on-site, ultimately enhancing the interventional capacity of healthcare facilities to treat patients. Rather than focusing on one specific field of interest, this book takes an integrative approach that incorporates topics and methods from multiple disciplines ranging from global health and development economics to materials science and applied engineering. These topics include the feasibility of using bio-based plastics to fabricate surgical instruments via 3D printing sustainably, the application of "frugal innovation and engineering” in resource-poor settings, and analyses related to the social returns on investment, barriers to entry, and current and future medical device supply-chain paradigms. In taking a multi-disciplinary approach, the reader can gain a holistic understanding of the multiple facets related to implementing medical device innovations in developing countries.

In this book, Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and a region in the lowest income group per capita, is used to demonstrate the potential for healthcare reorganization and collaboration with the introduction of “successful” technologies centered around available, bio-compatible, and sustainable natural resources. Our book discusses three of the top killers of children under 5 years of age in Nigeria, pneumonia (20%), diarrheal diseases (15%), and traumatic injuries (4%). These conditions are used as examples to demonstrate the potential for improved pediatric outcomes with treatments engineered from sustainable and natural resources. Furthermore, this book outlines possible action items that can help drive economic growth, educational opportunities, collaborative outreach, and workforce productivity to build a healthy and sustainable community. Medical technology in the industrialized world has seen rapid advancements leading to increased survival and greater patient outcomes. However, the development and implementation of these resources is not always applicable to regions in need of new and more basic ways to provide treatment. Moore’s Law, a paradigm that considers advancement synonymous with increased digitization and optimization of electronic processes, defines the history of technology. However, the functionality of advanced and “smart” technology is essentially useless in underdeveloped areas. These regions lack some of the basic requirements for innovative medical technologies to impact human health, such as electricity, access to spare parts, computer analysis tools, and network architecture. In addition, the poor physical infrastructure, insufficient management, and lack of technical culture are barriers for entry and sustainability of these technologies. Rather than importing medical devices from industrialized countries, we propose that the mindset and research focus for under developed areas must be on “successful” technologies. Simply put, these areas need technology that “gets the job done.”

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing, manufacturing a product layer by layer, offers large design freedom and faster product development cycles, as well as low startup cost of production, on-demand production and local production. In principle, any product could be made by additive manufacturing. Even food and living organic cells can be printed. We can create, design and manufacture what we want at the location we want. 3D printing will create a revolution in manufacturing, a real paradigm change. 3D printing holds the promise to manufacture with less waste and energy. We can print metals, ceramics, sand, synthetic materials such as plastics, food or living cells. However, the production of plastics is nowadays based on fossil fuels. And that’s where we witness a paradigm change too. The production of these synthetic materials can be based also on biomaterials with biomass as feedstock. A wealth of new and innovative products are emerging when we combine these two paradigm changes: 3D printing and biomaterials. Moreover, the combination of 3D printing with biomaterials holds the promise to realize a truly sustainable and circular economy.

3D Printing in Radiation Oncology: Personalization of Patient Treatment Through Digital Fabrication presents a comprehensive and practical view of the many forms in which 3D printing is being integrated into radiation oncology practice. Radiation oncology employs among the most sophisticated digital technologies in medicine. Until recently, however, the “last mile” of treatment has required manually produced or generic devices for patient set up, positioning, control of surface dose, and delivery of brachytherapy treatment. 3D printing is already offering enhancements in both precision and efficiency through the digital design and fabrication of patient photon and electron bolus, customized surface and gynecological brachytherapy applicators, proton beam compensators and range shifters, patient immobilization, novel radiation detectors, and phantoms. Various innovations are disrupting decades-old practices in radiation therapy (RT) facilities, resulting in vital improvements in personalization of treatment and patient experience. An essential read for radiation oncologists, medical physicists, radiation therapists, oncology nurses, hospital administrators, engineers, and medical educators, this book is an indispensable resource for those bringing 3D printing to the RT clinic, looking to expand the role of 3D printing in their practice, or embarking upon related research and development.

The increasing availability and decreasing costs of 3D printing and bioprinting technologies are expanding opportunities to meet medical needs. 3D Printing and Bioprinting for Pharmaceutical and Medical Applications discusses emerging approaches related to these game-changer technologies in such areas as drug development, medical devices, and bioreactors. Key Features: Offers an overview of applications, the market, and regulatory analysis Analyzes market research of 3D printing and bioprinting technologies Reviews 3D printing of novel pharmaceutical dosage forms for personalized therapies and for medical devices, as well as the benefits of 3D printing for training purposes Covers 3D bioprinting technology, including the design of polymers and decellularized matrices for bio-inks development, elaboration of 3D models for drug evaluation, and 3D bioprinting for musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, central nervous system, ocular, and skin applications Provides risk-benefit analysis of each application Highlights bioreactors, regulatory aspects, frontiers, and challenges This book serves as an ideal reference for students, researchers, and professionals in materials science, bioengineering, the medical industry, and healthcare.

3D Printing in Medicine, Second Edition examines the rapidly growing market of 3D-printed biomaterials and their clinical applications. With a particular focus on both commercial and premarket tools, the book looks at their applications within medicine and the future outlook for the field. The chapters are written by field experts actively engaged in educational and research activities at the top universities in the world. The earlier chapters cover the fundamentals of 3D printing, including topics such as materials and hardware. The later chapters go on to cover innovative applications within medicine such as computational analysis of 3D printed constructs, personalized 3D printing - including 3D cell and organ printing and the role of AI - with a subsequent look at the applications of high-resolution printing, 3D printing in diagnostics, drug development, 4D printing, and much more. This updated new edition features completely revised content, with additional new chapters covering organs-on-chips, bioprinting regulations and standards, intellectual properties, and socio-ethical implications of organs-on-demand. Reviews a broad range of biomedical applications of 3D printing biomaterials and technologies Provides an interdisciplinary look at 3D printing in medicine, bridging the gap between engineering and clinical fields Includes completely updated content with additional new chapters, covering topics such as organs-on-chips, bioprinting regulations, intellectual properties, medical standards in 3D printing, and more

This book focusses on all advanced methods of joining such as friction stir welding, joining by plastic deformation, laser welding, advanced mechanical joining, adhesive bonding and hybrid joining. The volume presents the state-of-the-art of advanced methods of joining and also serves as a reference for researchers and graduate students working in this field. This book gathers selected contributions of the 2nd International Conference on Advanced Joining Processes 2021, held in Sintra, Portugal, on October 21–22, 2021.

3D Printing in Medicine and Surgery: Applications in Healthcare is an advanced book on surgical and enhanced medical applications that can be achieved with 3D printing. It is an essential handbook for medical practitioners, giving access to a range of practical methods, while also focusing on applied knowledge. This comprehensive resource features practical experiments and processes for preparing 3D printable materials. Early chapters cover foundational knowledge and background reading, while later chapters discuss and review the current technologies used to engineer specific tissue types, experiments and methods, medical approaches and the challenges that lie ahead for future research. The book is an indispensable reference guide to the various methods used by current medical practitioners working at the forefront of 3D printing applications in medicine. Provides a detailed introduction and narrative on how 3-D printing can be used towards developing future medicine-based therapies Covers up-to-date methods across a range of application areas for the first time in book form Presents the only book on all current areas of 3D printing in medicine that is catered to a medical rather than engineering audience