Posted on 01/28/2015 6:54:27 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
It sounds like something from a science fiction plot: so-called three-dimensional printers are being used to fashion prosthetic arms and hands, jaw bones, spinal-cord implants -- and one day perhaps even living human body parts.
While the parts printed for humans so far have been fashioned from plastic, metal and other inorganic materials, researchers in California and elsewhere also have begun printing living tissue, with the goal of eventually employing these "bioprinters" to create customized kidneys, livers and other organs for people needing transplants. What's particularly attractive about the technology, according to its proponents, is that 3D printers can produce body parts much quicker and cheaper than other methods.
"You can make things for tens of dollars rather than thousands of dollars," said Stanford University professor Dr. Paul Wang, a cardiovascular and bioengineering expert who is among those studying the printers' potential for prosthetics, replacement bones and other applications. "It's totally opened up what's possible."
Developed in the 1980s by physicist Charles Hull, 3D printers have been used to make everything from jewelry, toys and guns to smartphone cases, car components and portions of NASA's robotic Mars rover. Last year, a Chinese firm even constructed a five-story apartment building from 3D-printed walls and other pieces...
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Good idea…will wait as long as teeth agree.
Big badda boom...
You get it or you don’t.
And a 3D printer printing a 3D printer ....
Where’s that 3d printer that transports those illegal aliens out of here?
Picard “Tea, Earl Grey, Hot”
Interesting. I had a couple of implants placed in 2010. Had to get impressions taken and return in a week.
If everything was free: the economics of abundance (Utopian Laff Riot, But Thought-Provoking)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3130116/posts
Just print me out a side of moose. It doesn’t have to be the whole living biting animal.
Do they print in color? :-)
Great movie.
This time around I replaced crowns that were almost 25 years old. The old ones were as Ken_H stated: get them formed and come back in 10 days to get them installed. I have pretty good benefits, so as I remember the out of pocket was similar (I think around $450 each). This time, they did the prep, scanned the gap, and later (hour?) installed the completed crown. Was in and out in under 2 hours.
Technology, you got to love it...!
Yes, but dental crowns and other bridgework are done on machines that do "subtractive printing" (i.e. it's a 5-axis milling machine), and not "additive printing", which is what most folks consider "3D printing".
For Michael Jackson, color wasn't an issue, he could alternate between white and black.
If they could 3D print bones, it would be great for some people. I remember working at the Hall of Justice dispatch area, there was a gal receptionist that was born with short arms. She had to lean into the phone to pick up the handset. It didn't bother her, she was real upbeat and tough with a great personality. I think this technology could enable her to obtain longer arms. Doctors are currently lengthening kids legs by repeatedly breaking the bones and spacing the fragments apart for new bone to grow together, a very lengthy and painful process. That timeframe can be greatly reduced by growing large fragments in the lab, then inserting them in a child's legs to bond together separated bone fragments.
MJ: "Excuse me, Officer, am I Black or White?"
Officer: "You're under arrest."
MJ: "I guess I am black, after all."
-From "In Living Color".
That was one of my favorite shows when it was current. Black humor on black people, without putdowns on white people. Black comics could learn something from the Wayan brothers about honest humor.
On topic, just had a weird thought. Could those 3D printed human body parts change a black person's head to a white person? Thinking about that old Star Trek episode where aliens had half-black and half-white faces. Brave new future!
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