3-D Technology May Someday Print Up New Livers: Health
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3-D printing used to construct everything from art to toys to spare parts for the space station may one day produce human organs at a hospital near you.
The 20-year-old technology uses liquid materials that become hard as they print out three-dimensional objects in layers, based on a digital model. Current medical uses are in dentistry, for hard-material crowns, caps and bridges, as well as prosthetics. Last year, a 3-D printer was used to create a structure from moldable polymer that replaced more than 75 percent of a patient’s skull.