3D printing medical devices inside the body

Additive manufacturing, or more commonly known as 3D printing, involves building objects layer by layer, rather than conventional manufacturing processes that cut away material. 3D printing, therefore, has the ability to create shapes that cannot be manufactured using conventional processes. The use of 3D printing in medicine is developing, but the full potential has yet to be realised. This project will develop techniques towards 3D printing inside the human body. The project will explore and develop methods to create images of the human body so that medical devices of the correct size and shape can be developed. 3D printers will then be modified to enable printing to take place inside the body, simulated through the use of animal tissue from a butcher. Finally the project will investigate and develop techniques for three different simulated clinical applications: repair of joint surface; creation of a spinal implant; creation of a device in a bladder.