Saving lives one 3D printer at a time

U.S. doctors believe they may have found a cure for babies born with fatal breathing difficulties using 3D printers.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have been able to custom design splints to three infants by taking measurements from CT scans of each child.

The splints were then made using 3D printing and the biodegradable plastic polycaprolactone which will begin to dissolve in about three years.

The first patient to have the innovative invention fitted back in 2013 was a young boy called Kaiba Gionfriddo. The splint has since dissolved, as expected, and Kaiba is now three years old and breathing on his own.

Dr. Glenn Green, a paediatric ear, nose and throat specialist at C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan, said he is extremely happy with the results he’s had so far.

“The device worked better than we could have ever imagined,” Green said in a statement.

“This is the first 3D printed implant specifically designed to change shape over time to allow for a child’s growth before finally reabsorbing as the disease is cured.”

Newborn babies have a 1 in 2,000 chance to be born with tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) - a condition that occurs when an infant has a weakened bronchi. Most children tend to recover naturally in the first couple years of their life as their airways grow and become stronger. However, some born with TBM can see the condition become life-threatening.

The other two participants in the study have seen their conditions improve dramatically also. Green and his team are currently working with the FDA to help another 30 children with these 3D splints.

The future is bright for 3D printing, says Duke University’s Dr. Piers Barker.

“The promise of 3D printing is you can really begin to personalise potentially almost every medical intervention. This approach to a structure that permits growth... this is the first time I’ve seen anything like this.”