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 ...
I’d like to see them reconstructing precious animals that have gone extinct. There are quite a lot of those, perhaps a few species might solve the food problem for the ever-growing human population. Yummy stockoceros, for example, and bison antiguus.
And restaurants could fax over burgers you could print on your 3D printer.
There are already food printers.
Adorable. I hadn’t seen that when I wrote post #3, but we are thinking along similar lines.
Print me a whole new shoulder then...
I wyz just gonna ping you and noticed you, are, in fact....you!
Coincidence?
My dentist 3d-printed my crowns, in the office, while I waited. Perfect fit, and good for the rest of my life...
Who knew? I’ve been waiting for years for this. Can you fax me over a Foodini, please?
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/06/tech/innovation/foodini-machine-print-food/
You may be confusing Nully’s copy with the real thing?
Are you serious? Because I’m their next customer. Does the process have a particular name?
Are they cheaper that way?
Hey now. You said that, not me...
LOL
I want my dentist to get one of the crown printers! BTW, you’ve got freepmail coming ...
lol
I’d wait for competition, were it me.
They’re speculating about using 3D printers to make prosthetics and replacement bones. Amazing. Think about the kids with deformed legs, that can be rebuilt with straight replacement bones that won’t be rejected. Not only that, but short kids can be made taller with longer bones. You can build supermen with additional stronger ribs. If Michael Jackson were alive, he could finally get a good rebuilt nose.
"You can make things for tens of dollars rather than thousands of dollars," said Stanford University professor Dr. Paul Wang, a cardiovascular and …
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