WASP medical group meets the researchers of the Orthopedic Institute Rizzoli in Bologna. To make the point on the development of the projects linked to the introduction in the medical field of the 3D printing and on the introduction of the new training course: “Tecnico per la fabbricazione digitale biomedicale”.Technician in virtual biomedical fabbrication.
WASP Med, a working team which assemble researchers ans professionists in the medical field, with the purpose to offer tailored solutions able to improve the doctors job and the patient wellness, met on Friday 25th November 2016 IOR ‘s (Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli di Bologna excellence center in the orthopedics and traumatology fields) technicians and researchers. IOR has been dealing with 3D printers applied to medical field for several years. During the event, WASP Med team has introduced the partners, the projects and the latest developments in the 3D printing applied to medical field and a new training course.
Technician in the virtual bio-medical fabbrication
As explained by Massimo Moretti, WASP’s CEO, the society is going to introduce a training course “Tecnico per la fabbricazione digitale biomedicale”. Its purpose is to train a professional person able to realise medical support-parts 3Dprinted with the help of digital acquisition instruments, dedicated softwares and 3D printing machines. A professional figure expected to find several application fields in a near future, as 3D printing is getting an irreplaceable role in medical field due to its innovations and advangages for the patient but for the medical staff too. The possible realization fields go from the educational performaces or preparatory study of the muscle tissue, of the bone or dental apparatus, to the construction of customized supports for scoliosis and lordosis theraphy; for surgeon guides and to make some surgeon intervention easier , from not planted estetical and functional prothesis to the construction of customized surgeon instruments.
Prothesis, corsets and insoles: the WASP Med group successes
One of the first to use a WASP printer, getting a big improvement in the scoliosis therapy compared to the traditional methods, was doctor Lelio Leoncini, phisician director of the Medical Center Sanatrix of Rionero in Vulture, who showed to the Rizzoli staff more confortable and accurated corsets, tutors and insoles compared to the traditional supports, specially if compared to the classical plaster casts, little practical and not easy to be realised.
Among the team WASP Med-results promoted during the event at IOR, the extraordinary prothesis realised by Marco Avaro, director and prothesis-technician at the Orthopedic Laboratory Del Bene Fabio in Trieste, are noteworthy. In fact he has been realizing replacement appendages using Delta WASP for several years, helping paralized athletes, victims of antipersonnel mines and fire arms: supports in light and resistant materials that have allowed to amputated people to start walking running and even surfing again.
Innovation in the material study
In the WASPmedical application it ‘s of foundamental importance the study of the materials and of the filaments with the aim to obtain more and more resistant and flexible objects at reasonable prices. Dario Pizzigoni from TreeD Filaments, works in the polymers field: He is the “plastic” expert. He explains “We work a lot with composite materials made up of several polymers or by one polymer united to a different element, like carbon for example. An advantage in the use of these materials is the biodegradability . This is a widly expanding field , we are at the beginning of our research : there are still a lot of new polymers to test.”
Interdisciplinary perspective and technology: medical future
In addition to the single and specific technological developments, central element in the 3d printing medical application is the interdisciplinary perspective, the twine of different “expertises”, skills belonging to different fields, from design to projecting from engineering to medicine up to competences in legal field. A shered vision carried on by the IOR research-team, whose coordinator is the engineer Alberto Leardini, chief of the Institute Analysis Laboratory, who works with the aim to realize tailored prosthesises. “We cannot think to take care of just a single field – the two engineers Leardini and Leonardo Vivarelli, from Prometeo Laboratory – explain – The medicine future is in the inter-connection of different skills with the foundamental help of technology, in the direction of the development of more and more customized equipments and instruments”. And this is the direction followed by all WASP Med team.