Kai Sherwood, a little boy adopted by the Sherwood family of Utah, was born with microtia and atresia, or "little ear," similar to Tai Medina, whose story we covered back in February. Fortunately, first for Tai and now for Kai, medical teams in Utah are well-equipped to help them lead a more normal life thanks to 3D printing technology. Hansi Sherwood, Kai's mother, noted that as Kai is nearing kindergarten age, he is beginning to notice more and more that his ears aren't the same as everyone else's, so the family took him to Paul Tanner, an anaplastologist at the Huntsman Cancer Institute's Prosthetics Department. Following 3D scans of Kai's left ear, the medical team created a 3D model of a replica of Kai's full-sized ear, and printed it on the powder-based 3D printer at the J. Willard Marriott Library. The 3D printed piece was used to mold a silicone ear that was then attached to Kai's head and painted to match his skin tone. Find out more about this heartwarming story of medical 3D printing in the full article: http://3dprint.com/56087/3d-printed-ear/


Below is a photo of Kai and of his 3D printed ear model: