The future is here!
A 54-year-old Spanish man who lost his sternum and part of his rib cage to cancer has received the world’s first 3D-printed chest prosthetic, made from super strong, yet lightweight titanium.
A custom-designed 3D-printed titanium rib cage was used by surgeons at the Salamanca University Hospital in Spain in order to replicate portions of the patient’s chest that had been removed.
Remarkably, Melbourne, Australia-based company, Anatomics, designed and built the replacement sternum and rib cage by referencing high-resolution 3D CT scans of the patient’s chest and input from the surgeons.
Obviously a regular ole 3D-printer wasn’t tasked with printing the rib cage, instead a $1.3 million electron beam Arcam 3D printer produced the prosthetic, which was then flown to Spain for the surgery.
Reports are that after about two weeks removed from the surgery, the patient is recovering well, but now represents a nightmare for metal detectors and airport security.
