Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Medical Applications of 3D Printing

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
3D Printing of Pharmaceuticals

Part of the book series: AAPS Advances in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Series ((AAPS,volume 31))

Abstract

Three-dimensional printing (3DP) is an entirely novel method of manufacture with its applications only limited by the imagination. The mainstay of 3DP utilisation practically to date has been in the field of engineering, largely for the purpose of generating model prototypes. However, the potential of 3DP has increasingly been recognised in areas of commercial manufacture in medicine due to its capacity to produce materials and devices that can equal, if not surpass, the benefits of traditional consumer goods. The opportunities for future uses are innumerable ranging from tissue engineering, the on-demand fabrication of medical devices and advanced applications in other fields with the same pressing need for medical personalisation. The 3D printing arena is ultimately exciting and endless in opportunities with the FDA encouraging the development of science and risk based approaches. This chapter will discuss the existing and future medical applications of 3DP and its potential to revolutionise medical practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Schubert C, van Langeveld MC, Donoso LA. Innovations in 3D printing: a 3D overview from optics to organs. Br J Ophthalmol. 2014;98(2):159–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Ursan ID, Chiu L, Pierce A. Three-dimensional drug printing: a structured review. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2013;53(2):136–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Gross BC, Erkal JL, Lockwood SY, Chen CP, Spence DM. Evaluation of 3D printing and its potential impact on biotechnology and the chemical sciences. Anal Chem. 2014;86(7):3240–53.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Kalaskar DM. 3D printing in medicine. Duxford: Woodhead Publishing; 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Williams DF. On the mechanisms of biocompatibility. Biomaterials. 2008;29(20):2941–53.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Helsen JA, Breme HJ. Metals as biomaterials. Chichester: Wiley; 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Cakor A. Alphaform – Production of hip implant using additive manufacturing: eos; 2014. Available from: https://www.eos.info/press/case_study/additive_manufactured_hip_implant.

  8. Developments MD. Top ten: upcoming products to benefit the heart 2011. Available from: http://www.medicaldevice-developments.com/features/featuretop-ten-upcoming-projects-to-benefit-the-heart/.

  9. Hench LL, Polak JM. Third-generation biomedical materials. Science. 2002;295(5557):1014–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Kolan K, Liu Y, Baldridge J, Murphy C, Semon J, Day D, et al. Solvent based 3D printing of biopolymer/bioactive glass composite and hydrogel for tissue engineering applications. Procedia CIRP. 2017;65:38–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Hench LL, Wilson J. Introduction. An introduction to bioceramics. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing; 2011. p. 1–24.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Jungst T, Smolan W, Schacht K, Scheibel T, Groll J. Strategies and molecular design criteria for 3D printable hydrogels. Chem Rev. 2016;116(3):1496–539.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Wang J, Goyanes A, Gaisford S, Basit AW. Stereolithographic (SLA) 3D printing of oral modified-release dosage forms. Int J Pharm. 2016;503(1–2):207–12.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Martinez PR, Goyanes A, Basit AW, Gaisford S. Fabrication of drug-loaded hydrogels with stereolithographic 3D printing. Int J Pharm. 2017;532(1):313–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Martinez PR, Goyanes A, Basit AW, Gaisford S. Influence of geometry on the drug release profiles of stereolithographic (SLA) 3D printed tablets. AAPS Pharm Sci Tech. 2018; https://doi.org/10.1208/s12249-018-1075-3.

  16. Jones JR. Review of bioactive glass: from Hench to hybrids. Acta Biomater. 2013;9(1):4457–86.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Schmidt M, Pohle D, Rechtenwald T. Selective laser sintering of PEEK. CIRP Ann. 2007;56(1):205–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Miller JS, Stevens KR, Yang MT, Baker BM, Nguyen DH, Cohen DM, et al. Rapid casting of patterned vascular networks for perfusable engineered three-dimensional tissues. Nat Mater. 2012;11(9):768–74.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Leukers B, Gulkan H, Irsen SH, Milz S, Tille C, Schieker M, et al. Hydroxyapatite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering made by 3D printing. J Mater Sci Mater Med. 2005;16(12):1121–4.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Ventola CL. Medical applications for 3D printing: current and projected uses. Pharm Ther. 2014;39(10):704–11.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Pharmaceutials A. Manufactured using 3D printing 2015. Available from: http://www.spritam.com/ - /hcp/zipdose-technology/manufactured-using-3d-printing.

  22. Peng W, Datta P, Ayan B, Ozbolat V, Sosnoski D, Ozbolat IT. 3D bioprinting for drug discovery and development in pharmaceutics. Acta Biomater. 2017;57:26–46.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Transplantation USGIoODa. Organ Donation Statistics 2016. Available from: https://www.organdonor.gov/statistics-stories/statistics.html.

  24. Klein GT, Lu Y, Wang MY. 3D printing and neurosurgery--ready for prime time? World Neurosurg. 2013;80(3–4):233–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Cui X, Boland T, D’Lima DD, Lotz MK. Thermal inkjet printing in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Recent Pat Drug Deliv Formul. 2012;6(2):149–55.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Sharma J. Celprogen introduces 3D printed scaffold human heart that may someday be utilized in heart transplants 2016. Available from: http://www.celprogen.com/news-details.php?nid=52.

  27. Davis S. Celprogen Inc successfully 3D print functioning pancreas model: TCT Magazine; 2016. Available from: https://www.tctmagazine.com/3d-printing-news/celprogen-successfully-3d-print-functioning-pancreas/.

  28. Schmid F. Testing a soft artificial heart Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich: ETH Zurich; 2017. Available from: https://www.ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2017/07/artificial_heart.html.

  29. Bartlett S. Printing organs on demand. Lancet Respir Med. 2013;1(9):684.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Ozbolat IT, Yu Y. Bioprinting toward organ fabrication: challenges and future trends. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2013;60(3):691–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Mertz L. Dream it, design it, print it in 3-D: what can 3-D printing do for you? IEEE Pulse. 2013;4(6):15–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Haumont T, Rahman T, Sample W, MK M, Church C, Henley J, et al. Wilmington robotic exoskeleton: a novel device to maintain arm improvement in muscular disease. J Pediatr Orthop. 2011;31(5):e44–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Mannoor MS, Jiang Z, James T, Kong YL, Malatesta KA, Soboyejo WO, et al. 3D printed bionic ears. Nano Lett. 2013;13(6):2634–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  34. Campbell PG, Weiss LE. Tissue engineering with the aid of inkjet printers. Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2007;7(8):1123–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Skardal A, Mack D, Kapetanovic E, Atala A, Jackson JD, Yoo J, et al. Bioprinted amniotic fluid-derived stem cells accelerate healing of large skin wounds. Stem Cells Transl Med. 2012;1(11):792–802.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  36. Virginie K, Fabien G, Isabelle A, Bertrand G, Sylvain M, Joëlle A, et al. In vivo bioprinting for computer- and robotic-assisted medical intervention: preliminary study in mice. Biofabrication. 2010;2(1):014101.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Ozbolat IT. Bioprinting scale-up tissue and organ constructs for transplantation. Trends Biotechnol. 2015;33(7):395–400.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Rengier F, Mehndiratta A, von Tengg-Kobligk H, Zechmann CM, Unterhinninghofen R, Kauczor HU, Giesel FL. 3D printing based on imaging data: review of medical applications. Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg. 2010;5(4):335–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Bilemjian T. Heal bones faster with the 3D printed ‘Osteoid’ cast: Buro 24/7; 2014. Available from: http://www.buro247.me/lifestyle/technology/heal-bones-faster-3d-cast.html.

  40. Osteoid. Osteoid. A better healing experience: Osteoid; 2017. Available from: http://www.osteoid.com/.

  41. Watanabe Y, Matsushita T, Bhandari M, Zdero R, Schemitsch EH. Ultrasound for fracture healing: current evidence. J Orthop Trauma. 2010;24(Suppl 1):S56–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Mundi R, Petis S, Kaloty R, Shetty V, Bhandari M. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound: fracture healing. Indian J Orthop. 2009;43(2):132–40.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  43. Rankin TM, Giovinco NA, Cucher DJ, Watts G, Hurwitz B, Armstrong DG. Three-dimensional printing surgical instruments: are we there yet? J Surg Res. 2014;189(2):193–7.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  44. Abbott A. Cell culture: biology’s new dimension. Nature. 2003;424(6951):870–2.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Griffith LG, Swartz MA. Capturing complex 3D tissue physiology in vitro. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2006;7(3):211–24.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Yamada KM, Cukierman E. Modeling tissue morphogenesis and cancer in 3D. Cell. 2007;130(4):601–10.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Zopf DA, Hollister SJ, Nelson ME, Ohye RG, Green GE. Bioresorbable airway splint created with a three-dimensional printer. N Engl J Med. 2013;368(21):2043–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Song K, Yeom E, Lee SJ. Real-time imaging of pulvinus bending in Mimosa pudica. Sci Rep. 2014;4:6466.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  49. Tibbits S. 4D printing: multi-material shape change. Archit Des. 2014;84(1):116–21.

    Google Scholar 

  50. Yi HG, Choi YJ, Kang KS, Hong JM, Pati RG, Park MN, et al. A 3D-printed local drug delivery patch for pancreatic cancer growth suppression. J Control Release. 2016;238:231–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. tec e. The top choice for 3D printed hearing aids, Inner-ear devices EnvisionTEC; 2017. Available from: https://envisiontec.com/3d-printing-industries/medical/hearing-aid/.

  52. tec e. EnvisionTEC dental 3D Printers: accurate, fast, reliable and flexible: EnvisionTEC; 2017. Available from: https://envisiontec.com/3d-printing-industries/medical/dental/.

  53. Wheeler A. Medshape INC. Receives FDA clearance for 3D printed Titanium medical device: 3D Printing Industry; 2015. Available from: https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/medshape-inc-receives-fda-clearance-3d-printed-titanium-medical-device-41644/.

  54. FDA. 510(k) Premarket Notification: U.S. Food and Drug Administration; 2013. Available from: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfpmn/pmn.cfm?ID=K121818.

  55. Revishaw. Surgeons present Renishawplant technology at CMF surgery masterclass: Revishaw Apply Innovation; 2014. Available from: http://www.renishaw.com/en/surgeons-present-renishaw-implant-technology-at-cmf-surgery-masterclass--42387.

  56. FDA. 510(k) Premarket Notification: U.S. Food and Drug Administration; 2015. Available from: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfpmn/pmn.cfm?ID=K143126.

  57. Medicrea. Lumbosacral anterior plating system: Medicrea; 2017. Available from: https://www.medicrea.com/en/th-lumbar-range/stabolt/.

  58. FDA. 510(k) Premarket Notification: U.S. Food and Drug Administration; 2014. Available from: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfpmn/pmn.cfm?ID=K133809.

  59. Mendoza HR. FDA approved first 3D printed facial implants: 3DPrint.com; 2014. Available from: https://3dprint.com/12417/3d-print-face-implant-fda/.

  60. https://www.invisalign.co.uk/en/Pages/Home.aspx. Invisalign innovations. Pushing what’s possible.: Invisalign; 2017. Available from: https://www.invisalign.co.uk/en/what-is-invisalign/Pages/Technology.aspx.

  61. FDA. FOIA Response: Align Technology 2011. Available from: https://www.fda.gov/cdrh/510k/K081960.pdf.

  62. Málaga HRd. Cirujanos crean instrumentación quirúrgica con impresión 3D: Diario Medico; 2016. Available from: http://www.diariomedico.com/2016/12/05/area-profesional/gestion/cirujanos-crean-instrumentacion-quirurgica-con-impresion-3d.

  63. FDA. Technical considerations for additive manufactured devices: Food and Drug Administration; 2017. Available from: https://www.fda.gov/downloads/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/GuidanceDocuments/UCM499809.pdf.

  64. FDA. Classify your medical device: U.S. Food and Drug Administration; 2014. Available from: https://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/deviceregulationandguidance/overview/classifyyourdevice/default.htm.

  65. Baird LaJ, M. 3D printing: its impact on medical device and healthcare. In: Beek S, Daubert G, Letoureau C, Madagan K, Maiden T, Oni Y, Quinn T, Schryber J, editors. 3D printing of medical devices: when a novel technology meets traditional legal principles. 1st ed. Reed Smith; 2015. p. 1–33.

    Google Scholar 

  66. Smith S. 3-D Printing helps save dying baby: CNN; 2013. Available from: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/22/health/baby-surgery.

  67. Banks J. Adding value in additive manufacturing: researchers in the United Kingdom and Europe look to 3D printing for customization. IEEE Pulse. 2013;4(6):22–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  68. Burg T, Cass CA, Groff R, Pepper M, Burg KJ. Building off-the-shelf tissue-engineered composites. Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2010;368(1917):1839–62.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Health NIo. 3D Print Exchange. Available from: https://3dprint.nih.gov/.

  70. Administration FaD. Technical considerations for additive manufactured devices: Draft guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff 2016. Available from: https://www.fda.gov/downloads/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/GuidanceDocuments/UCM499809.pdf.

  71. Trenfield SJ, Awad A, Goyanes A, Gaisford S, Basit AW. 3D printing pharmaceuticals: drug development to front-line care. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2018;39(5):440–51.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  72. Muwaffak Z, Goyanes A, Clark V, Basit AW, Hilton ST, Gaisford S. Patient-specific 3D scanned and 3D printed antimicrobial polycaprolactone wound dressings. Int J Pharm. 527(1–2):161–70.

    Google Scholar 

  73. Awad A, Trenfield SJ, Gaisford S, Basit AW. 3D printed medicines: A new branch of digital health. Int J Pharm. 2018;548(1):586–96.

    Google Scholar 

  74. Awad A, Trenfield SJ, Goyanes A, Gaisford S, Basit AW. Reshaping drug development using 3D printing. Drug Discov Today. 2018; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drudis.2018.05.025.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutics, UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, UK

    Grace B. Hatton, Christine M. Madla, Simon Gaisford & Abdul W. Basit

  2. FabRx Ltd., Ashford, Kent, UK

    Simon Gaisford & Abdul W. Basit

Authors
  1. Grace B. Hatton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christine M. Madla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Simon Gaisford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Abdul W. Basit
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Grace B. Hatton .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutics, UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, United Kingdom

    Abdul W. Basit

  2. Department of Pharmaceutics, UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, United Kingdom

    Simon Gaisford

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Hatton, G.B., Madla, C.M., Gaisford, S., Basit, A.W. (2018). Medical Applications of 3D Printing. In: Basit, A., Gaisford, S. (eds) 3D Printing of Pharmaceuticals. AAPS Advances in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Series, vol 31. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90755-0_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation