How 3D printing could shape the medical wearables market

A look into the role 3D printing could play within the sector.

The popularity of 3D printing is on the rise, probably due to the technology’s ability to customise products in order to fit a specific customer’s size requirements. Additionally, many manufacturers have invested in the research and development of 3D printing with hopes of this technology being carried out on a mass scale in the near future.

A report recently published by market researchers, Future Market Insights, looks into the future of 3D printed wearables. The report predicts that 3D printing will see a decrease in costs around 2025. As currently 3D printing is not thought to be fast or cost effective enough to produce precision parts in large quantities, a drop in costs would be beneficial for those within the 3D printing field. 

In terms of a long-term plan, 3D printing could therefore be seen as an investment for companies in order to gain a competitive advantage, as well as providing the opportunity to increase the life cycle of a product through the increased sustainability options the technology could offer. Despite these anticipated benefits, it is important to note however, that it is extremely unlikely that 3D printing will completely replace current manufacturing practices.

The healthcare wearable industry is anticipated to reach $40 billion revenue by 2022. This is thought to be as a result of the combination of an aging population and the constantly improving quality of healthcare wearables, which are both contributing factors towards helping to increase the popularity of medical wearables.

Medical wearables are currently able to collect lots of information including the number of steps a person has walked in a day, to things such as the composition of interstitial fluids beneath skin. Research within 3D printing is currently focused on flexible materials and sensors, and their ability to be both pliable and bendy. These properties are ideal for wearables particularly with products such as smart watches and small discrete sensors becoming increasingly popular.

At the moment lots of research is being done on 3D printing and its use within medical wearables. Researchers from Washington State University have been working on a wearable sensor which is able to monitor glucose in body fluids such as sweat. By using 3D printing to develop the monitor, researchers believe they were able to develop a more sensitive and stable glucose monitor than they would have been able to with traditional methods. The researchers hope their invention will lead to improved glucose monitors for millions of people who suffer from diabetes.

Additionally, earlier this year multiple 3D printed garments hit the red carpet at the Met Gala in New York City. This was widely covered across multiple news platforms, and coverage at events like this will definitely help to raise the profile of 3D printing not just in the medical field, but also amongst the general public.

In the future 3D printing will aim to offer faster prototyping and reduced costs, alongside a customisation process. If these goals are achieved, this would make 3D printing within the medical wearables field a more widely used technique.