A farmer whose skull was crushed in a fall was due to undergo surgery to receive a titanium replacement, made using a 3D printer. Doctors in Xian used the latest technology to print out a custom-made implant that will be inserted under the skin of the man, surnamed Hu, and attached to the bones of the 46-year-old’s skull.
If successful, the titanium mesh will restore the natural shape of the farmer’s skull and would represent the first procedure of this type in the world. One of the main advantages of 3D printing is the reduced cost in producing objects. In traditional manufacturing (shown below) as complexity increases costs rise, and the total addressable market falls.
Companies such as ExOne using 3D printers for the production process however, do not face these same barriers. Here, the marginal cost remains constant, as complexity increases. If we can apply this process to 3D Bioprinting than this may alleviate and eventually eliminate problems such as transplant waiting lists, and reduce the 40% drug failure rate at a fraction of the current costs.