Smart Molding International 1-2021

3D printing 29 www.smart-molding.com journey we can truly make a differ - ence. Now integrated into a systemic program called Custom Care, we have little doubt this new technology will help us provide the best care possible to our patients and families.” Nicklaus Children’s Hospital upgrad - ed to the new J750 Digital Anatomy 3D printer from an existing Eden 260 in the Cardiovascular Surgery Program. The upgrade was a collaboration be - tween the NCHS Personalized Medi - cine Initiative and the Cardiovascular Surgery Advanced Research Projects Laboratory and was made possible by the support of the Bailey Foundation and donors to NCHS. Dr. Redmond Burke, chief of Car - diovascular Surgery and co-director of the Heart Program, said it’s now a critical part of surgical planning. “It’s very valuable to be able to actually cut open a model to get a very clear vi - sion of what we’ll see in the operating room,” he said. “We believe this is a significant advance that will allow us to reduce the trauma of patients un - dergoing complex heart surgery.” He said the new 3D printer also opens up completely new avenues in teaching and patient care. In Spain, two technology institutions have invested in the Digital Anatomy 3D printer to pioneer their medical ser - vice offering. Both cite the unrivalled ultra-realism and tactile nature of the models as a significant competitive advantage. Nacho Sandoval, Additive Manufac - turing Lead at AIJU, said, “Previously, we could not produce models replicat - ing the organic materials frequently requested by the medical sector, let alone realistically simulating the be - haviors of human tissue. What is also remarkable is that the precision of the Digital Anatomy printer offers higher resolutions than those obtained with a CT or MRI, which are usually above half a millimeter. We’re already seeing vast interest from a wide range of medical practitioners for these types of models in real-world applications.” Gorka Baqueriza, Additive Manu - facturing Project Manager, Tknika, added: “We see this technology hav - ing a significant impact in several areas of healthcare – from medical training to pre-surgery planning to patient care. The level of realism that can be achieved for such a wide range of anatomical models and pathologies is incredible.” In Italy, President of BIO3DModel, Eng. Ro - berto Rizzo, said he has witnessed particular interest in the Digital Anatomy 3D printer for surgical training. “This technology enables a drastic reduction in time training surgeons, in particular the ability to investigate for any specific pathological conditions prior to the actual surgery,” he stat - ed. “For example, until now it was not possible to produce hollow vas - cular systems down to 1mm wall thickness and diameter. This incredible detail could be the difference between life or death for a patient.” Emanuele D’Angeli, General Man - ager, Medilife, adds: “The models produced on the Digital Anatomy 3D printer offer the same soft touch and variable density of actual human tis - sues and organs, which today is im - possible to achieve with any other existing 3D printing technology. We are currently testing several applica - tions, including the creation of an ar - tificial limb. The aim is to reproduce the natural external appearance of the limb in terms of texture and color shade, while also replicating the lifelike physical feel that we experience with human touch.” Stratasys www.stratasys.com