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#4507719 - 02/18/20 12:37 AM Now, This is Cool (Even if it WAS a Dog)  
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vonBaur Offline
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vonBaur  Offline
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A veterinarian in North Carolina had a patient with a brain tumor. He was able to remove the tumor, but he also had to remove and discard a significant portion of the pooch's skull. The normal replacement material, titanium, was not an option for the family because of the expense. So the vet 3D printed one. It worked great and, so far, there have been no complications.

This could be revolutionary. A lot of materials can be used for 3D printing these days ranging from extremely hard and rigid to soft and flexible, and the list is only likely to grow. I recently saw a video of a new (to me) filament that comes out soft and spongy all the way to rigid depending on the temperature at which it's printed. Being nonorganic it would probably lessen the risk of rejection, too. And everything would be completely customized and individual.

Shatter a bone? Print out a new one. Joint wearing out (not THAT kind)? Print the new joint AND the cartilage. Heck, you could probably print out tendons and ligaments, too.

And all that for a FRACTION of current costs and done locally at the hospital. Seriously, a one kilogram reel of PLA costs less than thirty bucks and you could get dozens, maybe scores, of knees or hips, arm bones, leg bones, ribs out of one.


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#4507723 - 02/18/20 12:50 AM Re: Now, This is Cool (Even if it WAS a Dog) [Re: vonBaur]  
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5,503
Pooch Offline
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Pooch  Offline
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Posts: 5,503
Orlando, FL
My wife is waiting for a kidney. I'm sure that someday people like her won't have to wait years, and often die before one comes available. They'll just make them one!


"From our orbital vantage point, we observe an earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and magnificence, and we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it, and strive to live as one in peace."
Astronaut William C. McCool RIP, January 29, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia

#4507726 - 02/18/20 01:05 AM Re: Now, This is Cool (Even if it WAS a Dog) [Re: vonBaur]  
Joined: Sep 2009
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vonBaur Offline
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vonBaur  Offline
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That's already in the pipeline, Pooch. But it has to do with stem cells.

Good luck to you and your wife.


SALUTE TO ALL!
#4507783 - 02/18/20 02:22 PM Re: Now, This is Cool (Even if it WAS a Dog) [Re: vonBaur]  
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,346
PanzerMeyer Offline
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer  Offline
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King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,346
Miami, FL USA
It's not far fetched to say that the basic premise to the "Deus Ex" games could be a reality sooner than we think.


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#4507830 - 02/18/20 07:54 PM Re: Now, This is Cool (Even if it WAS a Dog) [Re: vonBaur]  
Joined: Jul 2004
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meh
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meh
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Watch "Ghost in the Shell, stand alone complex" and have a existential crisis.


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