What's new in 3D printing and medical device innovation

Wearables

Burn patients wear the masks on their face to heal scars and prevent complications. [Photo courtesy of Formlabs]

3D-printed face masks are helping pediatric burn patients heal better with personalized treatments.

The new technology also eliminates a potentially traumatic step for burn patients, who previously needed to endure warm plaster bandages to make masks of their faces.

“3D printing is something we’ve dreamed of for quite a long time,” said Christophe Debat, GM of Romans Ferrari pediatric rehabilitation center in France. “We had imagined that a 3D printer would allow us to produce a mask based on the scanned file without ever having to touch the patient.”

The team has treated more than 100 patients using a Formlabs Fuse 1 selective laser sintering (SLS) printer.

Here in the U.S., University of Hawaiʻi researchers are working on a 3D-printed, wearable sweat sensor for health monitoring.

University of Hawaii sweatainer sweat sensor

The “sweatainer” sensor [Image courtesy of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Engineering]

“3D-printing enables an entirely new design mode for wearable sweat sensors by allowing us to create fluidic networks and features with unprecedented complexity,” Department of Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Tyler Ray said. “With the sweatainer, we are utilizing 3D-printing to showcase the vast opportunities this approach enables for accessible, innovative and cost-effective prototyping of advanced wearable sweat devices.”