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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday October 25 2017, @02:35PM   Printer-friendly
from the making-wolverine dept.

ZDNet reports:

An Australian-made 3D-printed sternum and rib cage has successfully been implanted into a 20-year-old New York patient who had been diagnosed with a rare bone cancer, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) announced on Thursday.[that's a week ago]

The 3D-printed titanium and polymer sternum and rib cage was produced by the CSIRO in partnership with Melbourne-based medical device company Anatomics.

The patient, Penelope Heller, had to have her sternum removed after being diagnosed with chondrosarcoma in 2014. While the cancer was successfully removed, Heller's replacement sternum and rib cage that was developed using off-the-shelf solutions made post-operation life painful.

[...] The organisation claims it is the first time this technology has been used in the United States.

[...] The CSIRO and Anatomics had previously partnered to produce sternum and rib cage prosthetics for a 54-year-old sarcoma patient in Spain in 2015...Once the prosthetics were made, it was sent to Spain and implanted into the patient. 12 days after the surgery, the patient was discharged and recovered well, the CSIRO then said.

[...] That operation followed on from the production of a 3D-printed titanium heel bone that prevented an Australian cancer patient from having his leg amputated in 2014.

[...] A 61-year-old British man received 3D-printed titanium and polymer sternum in 2016 after his sternum was removed due to a rare infection. The CSIRO said it was the first time a titanium sternum combined with a synthetic polymer has been used to replace bone, cartilage, and tissue in a patient.


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by tfried on Wednesday October 25 2017, @04:51PM

    by tfried (5534) on Wednesday October 25 2017, @04:51PM (#587452)

    Another major point of 3D printing is low volume production, with high precision. On the other side, I don't think this is the kind of thing you'll print in your generic reprap. Besides, getting the thing implanted was probably several thousand times the cost of flying it half-way around the world.

    Personally, I wouldn't be any less impressed, if this was an all hand-made implant. Although yes, the prospect that this approach might scale to larger case numbers is certainly cool, too.

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