3-D Printed Skull Implant Ready for Operation

Greetings, ATS!

How cool is this?

From Discovery News:

3D printing technology has helped replace 75 percent of a patient's skull with the approval of U.S. regulators. The 3D-printed implant can replace the bone in people's skulls damaged by disease or trauma, according to Oxford Performance Materials. The company announced it had received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its skull implant on Feb. 18 — a decision that led to the first U.S. surgical operation on March 4.

I know that when 3D printing first appeared a few years ago I was flabbergasted. Now, it truly seems the possibilities with this technology are endless.

I wonder.....what else will they manage to print? We live in amazing times, no doubt.

More information can be found here

reply to post by smyleegrl


How the hell do you implant a skull?

That is amazing, its about time that 3D printing did some good.

Very interesting indeed!

I remember reading about 3-D printing more than a decade ago, it was being developed by... you guessed it, the military. Originally, it's main use was intended for the navy. When a ship or submarine is at sea, it has to have a huge store of replacement parts, nuts and bolts at hand in case anything was to break. Well,you can imagine a case of metal filings and 3-D printing had the potential to save an enormous amount of space, one of the most precious commodities on a ship!

Anyhow, enough for the history lesson, it is truly a fascinating technology with incredible potential and I'm sure this is just the tip of the iceberg!

Star and flag

the Billmeister

p.s.
Do people even read before posting comments?

It is a primitive replicator.

If those monkeys keep learning soon they may even make a real Starship