SPRING WISRD MAGAZINE, VOL 6, ISSUE 2

funct ional blood brain barr ier, completely cell-based, that mimics the organic human anatomy. Having this technology to produce copies of human t issue is a perfect tool for doctors to pract ice on before large surger ies, which in turn can speed up the process of these operat ions. This is just scratching the surface of what 3D pr int ing could br ing the medical field in the future.

and clamps. These are highly sought-after since they can be produced ster ilely and can be engineered to exact specificat ions of a procedure. These are called pat ient-specific devices, and are now produced on a larger scale thanks to the development of 3D design and pr int ing. This method can create tools that allow for more precision while minimizing the damage done to a pat ient 's body dur ing a procedure. Prosthetics Prosthet ics is another increasingly common applicat ion of pat ient-specific devices. 3D pr int ing has allowed medical professionals to create extremely specific designs for each pat ient for half the pr ice and in under half the t ime. It has not only made medical professionals?jobs slight ly easier, but also the pat ients?, since this is a cheaper alternat ive to tradit ional prosthet ic systems. In part icular, children benefit the most from 3D-pr inted prosthet ic devices since they can be produced fair ly quickly to keep up as a child outgrows their old prosthet ic equipment . Not only that , but prosthet ic innovat ions have developed so far that doctors can allow pat ients to design their own prosthet ic that fits their needs exact ly. Even though 3D design and pr int ing in the medical field is st ill in its ear ly stages, there are already count less applicat ions of this technology. Whether it?s speeding up the process of procedures

3D-Printed Organoid 3D Development of Hospital Instruments 3D pr int ing also sparks interest for

engineers in the medical field. The cost of producing 3D pr inted hospital instruments is far lower than the cost of tradit ional, mass-manufactured tools. It also provides a free range of i nstruments for engineers to produce. 3D pr int ing is most applicable to the product ion of surgical instruments like forceps, hemostats, scalpel handles,

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