3D printers are beginning to enter our lives and it seems that they will be useful for many things. The 3D printer makes replicas of designs in three dimensions creating pieces with volume from a design made both by computer and collected by a 3D scanner or downloaded from the Internet. Among current uses are automotive, industry or feeding , but there is one that stands out and in which many scientists are working: the medical utility . It is researched to use 3D printers in prostheses, transplants and to reproduce organs with living cells, among other things. The case that occupies us has as protagonist this interesting and new scientific field, the one of 3D printers and Patches, the dog saved thanks to one of these printers. Join us to know their history.
Patches, the dog saved thanks to a 3D printer
In September 2018, a operation that saved the life of Patches , a 9-year-old Canadian dachshund. The dog suffered a brain tumor and with the help of the 3D printer he reconstructed the skull.
Patches went as a patient to visit with the veterinary surgical oncologist of the Ontario College of Veterinarians of the University of Guelph, in Glen , Dr. Michelle Oblack. Patches had a large and dangerous brain cancer tumor that he had completely deformed his head. Not only did he press on his brain and one of his eyes, but it also prevented him from raising his head completely due to the weight. The doctor saw that by removing the tumor, necessarily They should remove part of the skull. Normally, doctors and veterinarians shape a titanium mesh over the point it must cover, but that involves a lot of time in the operating room and increases the risk to the patient. To obviate that risk, Dr. Oblack thought that the solution was in the new 3D technology.
With the help of an engineer from the "Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Design Center of Sheridan College" they created a 3D model of the dog's head and tumor and a titanium prosthesis that fitted perfectly with the gap that the skull of Patches would present once the tumor was removed. It was the first time this procedure was carried out in North America and it has marked a great advance in cancer research, not only in the veterinary field, but also in human medicine. With this system the need to model the implant in the operating room will be reduced reducing the risk for the patient by shortening the time of anesthesia. Of course, Patches now has a great and safe look that is already fully recovered.
In addition to the magnificent news of the healing of Patches, the experience opens new possibilities to perform similar operations in humans. What do you think of the new medicine that comes to us through 3D printers? Did you know the Patches case? Do you know of any other similar? Get it with us! If you were interested in this article, you may want to read the post A 3D printer helps to walk a puppy without legs , in which one of these printers also collaborated to facilitate the life of a brave pet.
Images: University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada .