This article was originally published at The Conversation.The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
The news that a man in Wales was able to have his face reconstructed after a serious motorbike accident has brought the wonder of 3D printing to the mainstream. It’s the result of changes in regulation and improvements in the technology and is the start of something much, much bigger.
The use of a combination of CT scanning and 3D printing methods to treat patients who are suffering from injury or defect is incredibly powerful. As has happened in Stephen Power’s case, it allows expert surgeons to manipulate the precise geometry of the patient’s face or other part of the body before the operation. That means the necessary parts can be designed and manufactured in a normal, albeit slightly compressed, design timescale.
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