Australian Hospital Starts 3D printing Patient-Specific Bone Models for Treatment of Fractured Bones

Mackay Base Hospital has become the first hospital in Queensland, Australia to use 3D printers to create patient-specific bone models that can be utilized in the treatment of fractured bones. The surgeons of this hospital are already using this technology to produce full-scale specific bone models.

Doctors from all over the world have advised that a tangible, three-dimensional model of a patient’s organ such as bone can assist in surgical training as well as pre-surgery planning, specifically in complex cases. 3D printing is popularly being adapted by most of the hospitals globally, from the UK to China, Australia, and other countries. In the same way, surgeons of the Mackay Base Hospital in Queensland are profiting from a 3D printer as now they can effectively create replicas of fractured bones.

What are the Advantages of 3D Models of Fractured Bones?

According to the orthopedic surgeon Jonathan Davis, 3D models of fractured or broken bones have many advantages. They offer various benefits even if you simply look at X-rays and CT scans. He further says to Australian Press “A 3D structure, which is what you’re dealing with in life and then obviously when you’re in the operating theater, there’s a lot of soft tissues in the way and you only have a limited exposure to the bone. In this case, we can isolate the bone as a whole and hold it in your hand, have a look at it from all the angles and see what we're dealing with.”

How Can 3D Printing Reduce the Overall Time of Surgery?

Another advantage of having a 3D printed patient-specific model is that it may help in reducing the total time of the surgery, which also lowers the risk of infection. With the help of CT scan data of patients, the surgeons are capable of 3D printing a life-size bone model for just $10. Even, the bone model can be 3D printed in three hours to 12 hours, depending upon the size of the bone that needs to be replicated. One of the 3D printers of the hospital was shipped from the Netherlands and it cost around $8,000.

Presently, 3D printed patient-specific models can only be utilized outside the surgery room at the Mackay Base Hospital because the materials used for 3D printing bone models are made of plastic. Hence, it cannot be effectively sterilized. However, materials with higher melting points are being experimented for further use.