Dr please tell us more about you and your adventures with 3d printing ?
Response: I have been working with this technology since last 8 years. In fact it was a chance meeting with an Engineer from the local engineering college VNIT that triggered my interest in the technology. Initially we built a medical model using rapid prototyping for a patient who had a fall from height and had broken his pelvis bone. The model was a bit crude but helped us immensely during the surgery.
We followed our initial tryst with technology with another interesting case of 8 year old girl who could not open her mouth because of a condition called as TMJ ankylosis. The 3D printed helped us design the country’s first temporo-mandibular joint which was successfully implanted in the kid. It was due to this operation that the child who was so far only on liquid and semi solid foods in her life could taste solid food.
There was no looking back after the initial success with these two surgery. We coined a new term for these 3D printed structures calling them – 3D Patient Optimised Surgical Tools (3D POST). These 3D Post were medical models, instruments and even implants that were used during a surgical procedure. With use of 3D POST we have now performed more than 25 surgeries with surgeons from all across the country.
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