Sure, 3D printing could be used to create arts and crafts that you could go on to sell, but the technology is more than that. For example we’ve seen how it could be used to print bone, and just last month we reported that surgeons have successfully implanted 3D printed vertebrae, making it the first of its kind surgery.
Now according to reports, it seems that 3D printing has managed to save the day again over in China (with the help of doctors, of course) where a nine-month old baby had his life saved. Now the baby did not actually receive any 3D printed body parts, but rather the doctors created a 3D printed replica of his heart in order to better plan out the operation.
The baby in question suffered from a severe heart defect and was diagnosed with Congenital Heart Defect. According to Zhang Xueqin, the baby’s surgeon, “With the model, we were able to know precisely where and how we should cut, and how big the incision should be. And with such a thorough plan, we spent only half the time we had expected to complete the surgery.”
Zhang claims that the defect was rare and complicated and because of the size of the baby, trying to plan out the surgery using more traditional methods like an ultrasound examination was difficult. According to the reports, the baby has already been transferred to a general ward and is said to be well on his way to recovery.
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