Using 3D printing to Treat Unborn Babies

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Colorado Fetal Care Center has used 3D imaging and 3D printing to create template models for patches required in surgeries on infants with spina bifida surgery. Specifically, infants born with this condition -- which creates hydrocephalus or water on the brain -- are born with an opening in the neural tube that runs along the spinal cord region. Read more about the Center's approach to prenatal treatment in the full story: http://3dprint.com/81114/3d-printing-for-spina-bifada/


Below is a look at the 3D printed models used:

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Researchers from Leiden University and Erasmus medical centers recently received the prestigious €50,000 Open Mind grant from science and tech foundation STW to continue developing their early term surgical procedure to prevent spina bifida. Professor Dick Oepkes and Alex Eggink developed a surgical solution that is minimally invasive, performed early in pregnancy and uses a revolutionary in-utero 3D printing technique to correct the gaps on the backs of developing fetuses, preventing the spine and nerves from being damaged by toxins in amniotic fluid. You can read more about this amazing medical breakthrough over on 3DPrint.com: http://3dprint.com/105196/spina-bifida-treatment-grant/