China3D printingNet, April 26, the U.S. Department of Defense is using its amazing budget more for additive manufacturing (AM) of virtual inventory and on-demand spare parts. This time, the world’s most dangerous war machine has been logistically challenged. Experiments were performed on AM in the environment to manufacture surgical instruments and medical supplies.
The U.S. Air Force has seen the use of desktop-sized3D printingMachine as an opportunity to produce critical medical supplies, especially considering the fact that there are sterilizable materials that can be used in these mobile manufacturing systems. To prove this possibility, the Air Force team designed and printed a new type of surgical retractor. We have previously published an article discussing the autoclaving and disinfection of this equipment.
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3D printingSurgical retractor. Picture courtesy of Military Medicine.
The retractor is designed with a downwardly inclined parallel curved blade, one side of which is smaller to guide the device through narrow incisions, and one side is wider for incisions that require a wider passage. This design earned the device the title of “Air Force Retractor” because its blades are similar to the swept wings of a fighter jet.
In order to design the documents, the Air Force used free online tools, especially Tinkercad and Blender, to produce and modify the documents so that such instruments can be easily produced using free online training. Then place the device in Form 2 3D printingOnboard3D printing, First use Formlabs’ universal standard gray resin for prototyping. In the last part, Formlabs’ Dental SG Resin was chosen because it is a sturdy and durable class 1 biocompatible material that can be sterilized in an autoclave or gamma-ray sterilization.
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A surgical guide printed with Formlabs’ Dental SG resin. Image courtesy of Formlabs.
The Air Force next plans to apply for a patent for the device, obtain FDA approval, and print the device with stainless steel and a radiolucent polymer (a plastic that cannot be picked up on X-rays).
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3D printingSpine positioner. Image courtesy of Neurospine.
The research team cited a study in which a spinal positioner was performed in a medical institution3D printingAnd assembly, the research team envisions that medical equipment such as surgical instruments, prostheses, and other tools can be easily manufactured locally in mobile military units by accessing online repositories or through stored files. They also considered the following issues, including: long printing time, resolution, computer and Internet access used to access files, size and complexity may be limited by a given machine, and the need for hardware and software training to run the printer.
China3D printingOnline reviews:When the U.S. Air Force demonstrates the value of AM in medical emergencies, we hope that3D printingTechnology is calculated into non-military applications, such as the current efforts to cope with the frequently occurring multinational and multinational corporate crises brought by multinational companies, and the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
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