Stratasys 3D-prints replicas of human hearts and other organs for surgery preparation and research

3D printers are creating replicas of real human hearts and other body parts that can be used by surgeons preparing for an operation.

A 3D-printed replica of a human heart. Photo: Stratasys

3D printers are creating replicas of real human hearts and other body parts that can be used by surgeons preparing for an operation. A 3D body scan followed by 3D printing can produce accurate replicas of people’s internal organs that look and feel like a real organ.

The technology is being demonstrated in Australia today by 3D technologies company Stratasys at a 3D Technologies in Medicine Workshop in Melbourne.

Jay Beversdorf, head of applications engineering and channel development, says Stratasys can mimic human tissue by mixing six “photo polymeric materials” with different mechanical and visual properties.

“We're able to mix these six different materials together in different ratios or different amounts … with different mechanical structures to mimic different hardness values,” he tells The Australian.

Stratsys doesn’t build 3D-printed implants; it’s 3D printers concentrate on creating exact replicas that can be used in teaching hospitals and for inspecting organs before an operation.

Ben Darling, Stratasys senior territory manager for ANZ, says the company is the largest 3D printer developer and manufacturer and has been operating for 30 years.

3D printed veins and arteries. Photo: Stratasys

He says 3D-printers can now also reproduce heart blood vessels, bone, gastrointestinal tissue, the brain, nasal passage ways, muscle, and even nerve fibers in the brain.

“It’s pretty much anything that's in the body,” Mr Darling says. “If it can be scanned, we can reproduce something that is that is very similar and very lifelike.”

He says Stratasys’s “PolyJet” technology was launched globally 20 years ago. Initially the company produced a single material printer.

“Now we can apply unmatched realism to the models that we print and that's in terms of colour, multi materials and texture, and even the function of the item or printing,” he says.

“This technology can deliver rigid plastics, rubber-like and clear, and now can mimic human tissue.”

He says the project to mimic human tissue had been under way for five plus years.The printer that makes this possible was launched in October.

A Stratasys 3D-printer used to produce replica organ parts. Photo: Stratasys

“We're officially presenting the new technology at the 3D Med conference,” he says. The conference goes from November 14 to 16 and is in Melbourne. He says the first installation of the technology is underway in South Australia. FuseTec is the first customer.

“They’re providing 3d printed anatomies for surgical training and medical device development. If you can capture the most difficult conditions that require surgery, then with 3D print, you're able to reproduce those anatomies on the 3D printer.”

He says the replica body parts can be used to train surgeons conducting difficult procedures. “With the digital anatomy printer, we're now able to replicate the actual feel, responsiveness, and biomechanics of the human anatomy.”

Ben Darling, Stratasys senior territory manager for ANZ.

He says that previously, the only way to represent human anatomy was through 2D imaging.

He says the medical students of today use cadavers that are “highly processed”, and by definition lack the live tissue field. “They’re also are known to use animals, which only approximate human anatomy, and there are ethical concerns.

When asked whether this would impact people donating their bodies to science after death, he says the necessity will be more aimed at organ donation, rather than donating your body for surgical practice.

He says the models could be used in consultations. “Imagine if you had a heart condition and you went in to see your doctor, the doctor could put a 3D-printed model that looks and feels just like your heart in your hand. He would be able to perform that consultation with you and show you all the way through the surgery that he's getting ready to perform.”