Rize (Concord, Mass.) announced today that its xRize full-color industrial desktop 3D printer is compatible with Synopsys’ FDA-cleared Simpleware software, enabling affordable full-color 3D anatomical models from medical scan data.

“3D printing is becoming increasingly important in surgery, and the use of 3D printed models has been shown to increase our understanding of musculoskeletal diseases,” said Dr. Alister Hart, an orthopedic surgeon and professor at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in the U.K.

“We’re excited to work with Rize’s 3D printing platform along with the Simpleware software solutions for image segmentation,” Hart said in a news release. “Many aspects of surgical planning can benefit from 3D models — for example, to illustrate the distribution of bone density at various depths in the bone and to assist in positioning and screw placement. We are eager to explore this fast-moving technology domain and to quantify and understand its impact on patient and surgical outcomes.”

Synopsys Simpleware software provides comprehensive 3D image processing capabilities for medical images — from visualization to measurements and accurate segmentation prior to the export of print-ready models. Terry Ma, VP of engineering at Synopsys, noted that the software has a track record for processing 3D images and creating models for a wide variety of applications.

Rize meanwhile boasts composite 3D printing materials, full-color capabilities and minimal post-processing in its 3D printing system.

“Healthcare professionals need safe systems that can be easily operated from homes/offices or point-of-care with the least amount of complexity,” said Eugene Giller, founder of Rize. “Together with Synopsys, we’re delighted to advance the state of what’s possible in scan-to-print medical modeling so that teams can create highly affordable full color, functional medical models for planning, patient and family education – seamlessly and efficiently.”