Paraplegic with Exoskeleton to Kick First Ball at World Cup Thanks to 3D Printing

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At the World Cup in São Paulo this year, the world will come together, not just to compete in the most popular sporting event across the globe, but to give a young, Brazilian paraplegic the ability to walk.  An international team made up of researchers from Germany, France, and the United States have designed a mind-controlled exoskeleton that will give their candidate the ability to make the first kick at the opening ceremony of World Cup 2014.  But, to create such a personally-tailored device, the team had to invoke use of 3D printing.

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Stem Cell Printing Could End Osteoarthritis Pain

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Scientists at the University of Pittsburg have developed a new 3D printing technique that can replace cartilage in patients suffering from osteoarthritis.

Over the last few centuries human lifespans have been growing ever longer. While living well into your 80s, 90s and even beyond 100 years can be rewarding, human biology has yet to catch up with modern medicine’s ability to extend our lifetimes. That unfortunate reality leads to the breakdown of some of a body’s tissues well before the end of its life.

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3D Printing for Dog Surgery Receives Funding Boost

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Fusion Implants, a spin-out company from the University of Liverpool, will use cash from The North West Fund for Venture Capital to 3D print a portion of the tibia on dogs with cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) disease. Rupture of the CCL remains one of the most common orthopedic problems seen in veterinary practices around the world. It causes hind knee pain, lameness and arthritis, if left untreated.

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Man’s Best Friend Set to Benefit from 3D Printed Implants

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The last time I saw Dr Chris Sutcliffe was last summer at the International Conference on AM and 3D Printing, when he was doing his best grumpy old man impression. The grumpiness then was a result of frustrated efforts to commercialise a long running project that had seen Chris and team develop a design and manufacturing process specifically for veterinary implants. Chris’ frown has subsequently turned upside down as his vision looks set to be realized. Chris is a Director of Liverpool-based Fusion Implants, the company that is now bringing metal 3D printed canine implants to market, with the aim of supplying veterinarian surgeries with improved devices for canine knee-reconstruction that ameliorates mobility of injured or lame dogs dramatically.

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FFF BioPen Heralds Seaweed Bioprinting Industry

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The world is a complex system of biodiversity, individual components interacting, giving and taking from one another. As we begin to truly understand this concept, we can begin to harness the power of living in symbiosis with our environment. Take seaweed, for instance. Researchers at the University of Wollongong (UOW) in Australia have been exploring the use of seaweed in 3D printed medical implants.

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3D Printing to Save Critters is Becoming North Carolina State’s M.O.

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Life can be tough for the creatures that haven’t reincarnated themselves to full-human status, yet.  Without opposable thumbs and kick-ass forebrains, it’s almost impossible to invent new technologies or even perform basic medical care. And, so, animals are left hobbling around with fractured fins and broken beaks. Researchers at North Carolina State University’s Laboratory for Additive Manufacturing and Logistics know that nature’s cute critters are vulnerable and need humans to provide them with tender lovin’ care.  So, in their pursuit of AM applications over the past ten years, they’ve saved more than a few animal lives.

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