VA Puget Sound Initiative: Advancing 3D printing for Heart Disease

For over one hundred years, treating heart disease meant opening the patient’s chest to access the heart through open-heart surgery. The procedure usually takes between three to six hours and is associated with a lot of pain and suffering as well as possible surgical complications. On top of that, the patient has to be in good health to withstand the operation. However, throughout the last few years, the use of minimally invasive surgery has become extremely important for patients who are at intermediate or higher risk for death or major complications during the procedure. And just last month the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the procedure for low-risk patients who need to replace damaged valves. This was a big deal, since aortic stenosis is the most common valvular heart disease in the US, afflicting up to 1.5 million people, and many of them couldn’t or didn’t want to have open-heart surgery, so there were very few options for them. Still, if you thought things couldn`t get any better, try adding 3D printing to the equation. That’s just what the researchers and physicians at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System are doing, using 3D printing to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of complex heart conditions.

Recently, the VA Puget Sound (part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)  and the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine announced a two-year partnership to develop new uses of 3D printing that could help cardiologists better visualize the complex anatomy unique to each patient and improve access to new minimally invasive treatments. This type of surgery has already proven to help reduce health care costs by hundreds of millions of dollars every year, also making surgery safer by lowering the suffering associated with surgical complications, and now with 3D printing things can become easier for everyone involved.

The two organizations will share 3D printers, 3D materials, software and a staff made up of physicians, researchers and engineers, to quickly develop new protocols for planning procedures such as the creation of patient-specific 3D printed models for treatment of mitral valve disease—a complex heart abnormality that prevents blood from flowing properly out from the heart to the rest of the body.

“3D printing can benefit many aspects of structural heart disease, including disease affecting any of the four valves of the heart (aortic, mitral, tricuspid and pulmonic). Each valve has a different structure and different challenges to an interventional approach, and this is where being able to visualize that anatomy with 3D printing can really make a difference,” explained Beth Ripley, VA Puget Sound radiologist, to 3DPrint.com

The VA Puget Sound Health Care System facility in Seattle

The VA is the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States and has one of the most extensive hospital-based 3D printing networks. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) 3D printing network is already seeing first-hand the many benefits of 3D printing, everything from model kidneys to informing pre-surgical planning for veterans with renal cancer, and even specialized foot orthotics that help prevent avoidable amputations for veterans with type 2 diabetes. Cardiologists will soon be able to prepare even better for upcoming procedures and help their patients understand what type of treatment and surgery they’ll be getting, via life-sized 3D models of their own heart.

Ripley went on to say that “3D printed medical models can facilitate patient understanding and informed consent, training of physicians, diagnosis of disease and surgical planning. The next frontier will be exploration of patient-matched implants and surgical cutting guides. Finally, we are exploring bioprinting, which is 3D printing of structures that can support or are composed of living cells.”

Both, UW Medicine and VA Puget Sound use Materialise Mimics 3D printing software, which is medically cleared and GE Advanced Workstation Volume Share software. Both institutions have a wide variety of 3D printers at hand. The VA Puget Sound is equipped with:

  • Stratasys F370 FDM printer
  • Stratasys Mojo FDM printer
  • Stratasys Objet 30 Prime polyjet printer
  • Stratasys Objet 350 Connex3 polyjet printer
  • Formlabs Form2 vat photopolymerization (SLA) printer

At the UW School of Medicine, Research Scientist Dmitry Levin manages a nationally recognized 3D printing lab that has produced more than 100 patient-specific models to guide the decisions of cardiologists and surgeons. In order to carry out their projects, the researchers at the UW lab use the following 3D printers:

  • Dremel FDM printer
  • Formlabs Form2 vat photopolymerization printer
  • UNIZ SLASH pro vat photopolymerization printer
  • NewPro 3D vat photopolymerization Printer
  • Prusa i3 FDM printer
  • Z Corp Zprinter 250 color 3D Printer

By joining with the VA, Levin said that they are merging “all of our collective expertise into a unified effort to offer patients personalized cardiac care based on their unique needs.”

“Now that the FDA has expanded a catheter-based approach to aortic valve replacement (TAVR) availability to patients at low surgical risk, we’ll see more cases that can benefit from 3D printed models for TAVR planning,” Levin added back in August when the institution announced the new partnership. “Beyond improving our understanding of a patient’s anatomy, (3D printing) allows us to know which catheters and replacement valves will fit, and how best to approach the particular structure. That knowledge turns into costs savings for the patient in terms of devices and procedure duration.”

Research scientist Dmitry Levin holds an exact 3D replica of a UW Medicine patient’s heart

Both VA Puget Sound and the UW Medicine were early adopters of 3D printing technology and are seen as leaders in their fields. Developments from this research agreement are expected to not only benefit VA’s 9 million enrolled patients and UW Medicine’s broad geographic patient base but also to reach patients outside of these hospital networks. According to VA Puget Sound, innovations from the collaboration are expected to inform future research, development, and scalability of 3D printing applications to advance treatment approaches to address the complexities of heart disease globally.

Beth Ripley

“VA Puget Sound Health Care System provides comprehensive care to more than 110,000 Veterans enrolled at one of its nine facilities in the Pacific Northwest (two divisions in Seattle and Tacoma; seven Community Based Outpatient Clinics in Bellevue, Bremerton, Chehalis, Federal Way, Mount Vernon, Port Angeles, and North Seattle). As the VA’s fifth-largest research program, VA Puget Sound has research in virtually every major clinical department, including: TBI & multiple blast exposures; memory improvement and Alzheimer’s Disease; PTSD and deployment health; Parkinson’s Disease, diabetes; cancer; substance abuse; lower limb prosthetics; genomics; and Health Services. Additionally, we have seven nationally recognized Centers of Excellence, in areas from limb-loss prevention and prosthetic engineering to primary care education and substance abuse treatment,” Ripley stated.

3D aortic valve with TAVR bioprosthetic

Ripley also reflected about the next frontier for the VA Puget Sound. She believes they will soon be moving into bioprinting, creating living, vascularized bone.

“Currently, when a bone has to be removed due to cancer or chronic infection, it must be replaced with bone taken from another source, often the patient’s own bone. This means a second surgical site and the loss of bone from that site. The goal of printing living, vascularized bone is to provide a means of replacing diseased bone without the morbidity of harvesting it from the patient. Patients with cancers affecting the bone or chronic infections (such as can occur with diabetes) will benefit the most. Success will also lay important groundwork for creation of other living tissues, such as organs.”

Like her colleagues in the VA, Ripley believes that heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are all chronic disease processes that 3D printing is addressing, and in the future, they would like to continue to extend the reach of the technology to address other health concerns. There are 18.2 million veterans in the US that could benefit from the advances in 3D printing, plus all the patients that would indirectly be aided thanks to the advances in research being undertaken. It feels like this is a win-win situation for the patient population of the United States, present and future.

[Images: VA Puget Sound Health Care System and UW Medicine]

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Janne Kyttanen on Creativity in 3D Printing

Janne Kyttanen is a whirlwind of innovation, ideas and designs. The pioneering 3D printing designer was one of the first to couple design and 3D printing, the first to sell 3D printed design goods and is a leader in creativity in our space. Janne thinks that we need more creativity in 3D printing. Previously we interviewed Janne whose also the nicest VC in the world on investing in 3D printing, we had him on for our 3DPod podcast as well and we have another interview with him here on his own background in 3D printing. Yes, we’re huge fans of Janne and his work here and we thought we’d let him shine a light on creativity as well.

So why is creativity important? 

Without creativity, you simply won’t be able to come up with anything new.

Should companies all be creative? Even in space or medical device?

All areas require creativity.

How does creativity help my bottom line? 

Many mathematical models can be created for this how it helps your bottom line, but in my articles, I am using a basic correlation between starting a company with “an idea” to what that idea is worth. All those metrics are well known and the reason why I am making the connection between creativity and starting a company, is because a disruptive idea for a startup pretty much boils down to creativity. No disrespect to cafes or bakeries for example, but if your startup idea revolves around starting a basic corner café, I don’t put that in the category of a creative startup, which could generate astronomical value. You have X amount of seats in a café and your café is open for X amount of time per day. The absolute maximum revenue your café is able to generate is already pre-defined. I put that kind of company in the bucket of “innovation”…aka an incremental improvement to what is already known.

Should everyone in the organization be more creative or should we have key creative people?

Everybody should be creative in their roles. Even creative accountants. On top of that, every organization should have a chief creative officer, who is accountable for measurable creative throughput.

I think design thinking is for idiots. I don’t take a two-day first aid course and then apply “medical thinking” to my business nor do I then think I can do what a doctor does. Please don’t tell me you’ve gone over to the design thinking dark side? 

I am not talking about design thinking here. Where most companies go wrong is in change management and implementation. You can hire a “design thinking” guru to give a lecture to your staff and after that lecture, everybody will think: that was interesting and they return back to doing what they were going 30 minutes ago. If proper metrics are not put in place, nothing will stick.

Why is it difficult for large companies to innovate? 

Innovation is fairly straight forward for companies, but due to a large amount of red tape, even changing small things, gets difficult. I am really referring to creativity here, which is practically impossible for companies if they don’t even have people in the ranks who are accountable for results. Companies think, it all somehow magically happens, but what is more magical is that your star people are using your money and resources in order to work on their own business under your watch, whilst they can do their existing job with their left hand. Recipe for disaster.

3D printed metal sofa

Sofa so Good Fully functional lounger coated in high polish copper and chrome by Janne Kyttanen

How can I innovate better? 

Read my Forbes article. Download the 6 step printout. Sticker it on your fridge and you are onto a flying start.

Isn’t lack of innovation a lack of budget and responsibility? 

It’s a lack of intelligence.

Which teams should innovate? 

Whether you are an accountant or lawyer, you can always innovate on how to do your job more effectively.

If everyone starts innovating will we be able to keep to our processes in check? 

Voila…and there comes the chief creative officer who is the gatekeeper. If you don’t have it in place, all ideas just circulate in the air and nobody is catching them.

How do we know we’re on the right track with our innovations? 

Nobody really knows before you start, but the trick is to implement it in your system and start building metrics behind it.

Won’t innovations lead to lots of silly side projects and trial balloons? 

Yes. Such things as the internet, the computer, the relativity theory, the wheel, the satellite or electricity.

Won’t it be expensive to innovate?

It is far more expensive to run out of business.

The post Janne Kyttanen on Creativity in 3D Printing appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

3DPOD Episode 11: Interview with Xometry’s Greg Paulsen: 3D Printing Applications and Processes

In this 3DPod Episode we talk to Xometry’s Greg Paulsen on 3D printing processes and applications. In a far-ranging conversation on everything from the differences between FDM, SLS, SLA as well as applications such as conformal cooling we chew the 3D printing fat. The idea behind this episode was to give you guys more a look into when you would use which 3D printing process and what some of the bottlenecks are. We really enjoyed talking to Greg whose immensely knowledgeable about 3D Printing.

Our episode about 3D Printing in space is here.

The first podcast on going beyond PLA is here, our interview with Direct Dimensions CEO Michael Raphael is here, while our interview with design pioneer Janne Kyttanen is here. Our episode on bioprinting is here3D printing in medicine is here3D printed guns is here. Finally, here is the fourth industrial revolution episode, and all of them are here. You can find them on Spotify here.

The post 3DPOD Episode 11: Interview with Xometry’s Greg Paulsen: 3D Printing Applications and Processes appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

3D Printing Interview with Buzz Baldwin of 3D Printlife

Buzz Baldwin

Buzz Baldwin is the founder of 3D Printlife. The company is committed to reducing the environmental impact of 3D Printing. From their Enviro ABS, to their Eco-Friendly spooling and environmental contributions, they strive to deliver customers filaments, while protecting the world. 3D Printlife filaments are all made in the USA. 

Give us a summary on your background and how you’ve reached this point in your life and career.

I grew up in New Hampshire. I have always had a love of nature. I went to Berkeley college of music and played in a band for a while. I loved it but I needed to pay the bills. Then I started working for Warner Brothers and worked for their animation scene. I then was looking to be a bit more entrepreneurial. I was sent an article in the Economist, and it was all about the revolution of 3D Printing. It was when all the patents were expiring. I then decided to try and get into the space. I was thinking that it would be a tech that almost everyone would have in their homes. We started looking for manufacturers. I had an imaging background so I was looking into a way to bring in non OEM branded filaments to the scene. Through luck I met a dental hygienist who had a friend who was a biochemist and we connected. This allowed for us to be able to start and make a filament that was our Enviro ABS line. It was eco friendly and compared well property wise to typical ABS filament. That did okay and gave us a great amount of brand recognition. We have been really trying to build a product line that is.

How has your early musical studies background been applicable to your entrepreneurial career?

I have met others in this space with a music background. I think there is a weird super power of looking at a complex scenario and being able to look at areas of improvement. We are able to look at a complex system and the ability to know the problem quickly. A lot of music is very geometrical. This is a simplistic way to look at it and it allows people to see things. Composition and lyric writing was essential for my studies. There are no rules but there are tools. With songwriting you have to create something that is interesting but not too repetitive. It is important to apply this thought process to entrepreneurship. When applied to my company there needs to be quality and differentiation. Anyone can write a song, but how is it memorable or good? It is difficult to make something that innately is boring when it has no real meaning until someone creates the story.

3D Print Life Enviro ABS

What got you interested in 3D Printing?

My friend sent me an article about 3D Printing and I thought that was really fascinating. The article did not really give a vision or understanding of what is the process. As a songwriter, you are creating something from nothing. With 3D printing you are able to create something from nothing. I think that is extremely empowering. It opens up a lot of possibilities. It opens up functional creativity. The ability to have decentralized manufacturing is amazing. An inventor in their garage can create a sustainable living for themselves. A remote makerspace in Africa has the possibility to  create their own tools and develop. Makerspaces and fab labs around the world can benefit large organizations and people.

How is the field of additive manufacturing critical for the ideals of a circular economy?

It is tough. We have had a lot of people ask about this. Overall the idea is great. On the material side, the degradation of a polymer occurs always once it is used for 3D Printing so it is difficult. There are needs for engineering PEEK, and being able to make materials that are eco friendly. It is still difficult though.

3D Printed Pokemon from 3D Print Clean

What are the biggest concerns of additive manufacturing in terms of sustainability?

It is a tough question to answer. There are so many factors. Additive is a niche space. The great part about it is mostly prototyping and education. There is not a mass production level yet. We all want to change the world. There still needs to be a focus on making sure thermoplastics are placed in the right environment. Biodegradability is only applicable in certain locations. End users should be focused on how this actually important. I would hope additive will create a way for us to reduce mass produced and injection molded parts. It is a larger scale problem that people are somewhat ignorant to this.

3D Print Life EnviroABS

What has been the biggest surprise in terms of the work you have done in this industry?

I am surprised by all the creativity out there. There is so much. The space lends itself well to this mindset. One is only limited by their imagination and it is great. There are endless possibilities. One of the biggest surprises is that I as someone who went to school for music can even have an impact on the space. It opens up invention and manufacturing to anyone. A bit of investment can lead a large way for anyone to be able to create something. The level of advancement for using technology to benefit humanity has been tremendous. The ability to think and then conceptualize allows people to build.

3D Printing Interview with John Hauer of Get3DSmart

 

3D Printing Consultant | Gonzo Journalist

John Hauer

John Hauer has founded and launched several tech-related businesses. In 2013, he co-founded and served as CEO of 3DLT. The company provided a platform for 3D printing as-a-service, helping Amazon, Walmart and other global retailers sell digitally manufactured products, online and in-store. In 2015, he founded Get3DSmart, a consulting practice which helps companies innovate with 3D printing and other related technologies.

Give us some background on how you’ve gotten to this point.

I spent 25 years in the 2d printing industry I worked for Xerox and several large commercial printers. I was involved in that industry up until about 2012.  In 2012, I was at the 2d printing industry’s biggest trade show and the writing was literally on the wall. Books, magazines, newspapers, and direct Mail were all dead or dying. I spent 25 years in the 2d printing industry I worked for Xerox several large commercial printers and following that was involved in that industry up until about 2012.  In 2012, I was at the 2D printing industry’s biggest trade show and the writing was literally on the wall. Books, magazines, newspapers, and direct mail were all dead or dying at that time. I started to wonder if maybe 3D printing was the future for the 2D printing industry because staples had just announced they were going to start putting m-core printers in the Netherlands and Belgium and there was some signs attraction so I started a blog called 3D for printers and began evangelizing 3D printing to 2D printing companies. It culminated with the first article that I wrote for TechCrunch about why 2d printing and 3d printing really are a lot alike. There was a lot of people at that time saying you can’t call it printing because it’s not printing. It’s not the same, but essentially the workflow is the same. A file gets created something gets sent to a device. It gets manufactured. It gets post processed or finished and then it gets shipped. So the workflow is pretty much the same. Some fellow Cincinnatians saw that and convinced me to start a business called 3DLT. We began as the first for-pay file marketplace in the United States and then we pivoted our business to become a platform for 3D printing as a service.

We worked with global retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Sears and others to help them sell 3d printed products online and in-store. We were the first to launch with Amazon and Walmart. We did it practically at the same time and it was right after we left an accelerator in Northern Kentucky called Up Tech. On that day we announced our partnership with Amazon.

We were featured in 250 press outlets in one day and I did my first national TV appearance on Fox Business. We got some amazing traction and started to take off. The business was venture funded and you know we were trying to build something really big and that takes a lot of money. It’s hard to do in the Midwest when 11 of the 20 billion dollars in venture capital is all coming out of Silicon Valley. So we were still able to do it and move forward. By about 2015, I had clients that were coming to me and asking me to help them with things that were related to 3D printing but weren’t in the retail space. I started a consulting practice called get 3d smart and began working with those clients by the end of 2015.That consultancy was self sufficient and I had a choice to make. I could continue you know working with this big opportunity at 3d LT which is probably a little early, in retrospect from a time perspective, or I could go and do the consulting thing and kind run my own show and you know control my own destiny. So I made a choice to exit 3DLT in December of 2015 and begin working at Get 3D Smart full time. Get 3D Smart helps clients identify and capitalize on opportunities in 3D Printing. Typically we do that from a marketing perspective. We do a lot of market assessments for our clients, helping them figure out which verticals and which segments of the industry they want to play in. Then we help them craft their strategy and communicate their strategy internally and externally. That can include everything from training sessions for their sales reps on different vertical markets, to white papers case studies interviews. As I mentioned before I write for several publications; Forbes, TechCrunch, 3D print, and a host of others.

Get 3D Smart

What initially got you interested in tech journalism in particular?

I’ve been blogging and writing for 15 years now and I write about all kinds of emerging technologies. I wrote a series for Forbes about IOT. I write about artificial intelligence,automation, virtual reality, and all of those are of interest to me mostly because they are platform type technologies. They can drive the development of many different types of new businesses, and I’m especially intrigued when people combine one or more of those platform technologies. I wrote an article about this for Futurism how when you look at things like artificial intelligence and 3D printing, or virtual reality and artificial intelligence, or IOT and 3D printing, and you start to look at those technologies and combine them, it creates all kinds of new but  interesting business opportunities. That is what’s most fascinating to me. How do you take some of those very disruptive platform technologies and bring them together to create a new business model?

In general, why are you interested in 3D printing?

I come from a background of having been involved in digitization. When I started for Xerox in 1990, digital printing was just coming on the scene. It was a whole new world for people. There was no functional internet. All the things you take for granted in printing today like PDF and all those things, none of that existed. It had to be created, and I watched the market grow from being a small cottage industry within a really big industry. Digital was tiny and the overall print industry to a point. Now we’re here thirty years later. In some cases it represents 50 percent of the market share, and it depends on what side of the market you’re in. Digital is pervasive and one of the other things that we saw about it was the breakeven of when it made sense to use digital technologies versus when it made sense to use analog technologies continue to shift inward. When Xerox brought out one of their first digital color copiers it printed five pages a minute, blue looked like purple, and it cost five dollars a page. Everybody said there’s no way it’s going to be successful; No one’s gonna pay that kind of price yet. They did because they could have one of whatever they wanted. They didn’t need five thousand, ten thousand, or a hundred thousand. They could get one. 3D printing is doing that today, What digital printing eventually did is have a breakeven that went from five to fifty to five hundred to five thousand. HP has wide format inkjet presses that can compete with analog technologies that a half a million units or more we’re seeing the same thing happening in 3D printing already. HP just announced that it had printed its 10 millionth part off of their technology. That might seem like a lot, but in reality there’s some build boxes that might have a thousand or more parts in them so it’s not a huge endeavor to get to ten million parts. It is a harbinger of things to come when you look at what’s happening now. The breakeven for a product might have been fifty pieces. Now it’s 500 and with that next evolution maybe the 5200 series or whatever comes after. Maybe whatever Carbon brings to the table or you or any of the other manufacturers, we now get to 50,000 and that’s when it gets really interesting but that’s not the only reason 3d printing is compelling. It’s not just a price issue. Sometimes it’s personalization and customization. Sometimes it’s the ability to manufacture on demand like I talked about before. Sometimes it’s about speed to market and being able to get a product to market before any others. Before you could in any other way and if you’re talking about marketing in the moment that stuff is critical so all of those things were interesting for me in part because I saw the parallels to 2d printing, and in part because I know those use cases. Those scenarios where there’s a value add, there’s a significant opportunity to go out and build an industry, and for 30 years 3d printing was a cottage industry. Now all of a sudden that’s on the cusp of going mainstream, and it took big players like HP, Carbon, Desktop Metal GE, and others to help make that possible. Now that they’re here it’s game on.

Desktop Metal

How has journalism helped you in your entrepreneurial career?

It’s been great. I mean it’s forces me to soak in more knowledge to become an expert in areas that I wasn’t in the past you know because you start you come up with a concept and you say okay now I have to dig deep and understand what this industry really means. I have the research at my disposal to be able to talk intelligently about it. That’s one side of it, and then the other side of it is it’s just from a marketing perspective it’s been fantastic. It’s helped me build the name recognition and thought leadership that I want in the industry as kind of an outsider. My tag is that I’m a gonzo technology journalist. Hunter Thompson is one of my favorite journalists of all time. I love that approach. I want to take a different slant at it, and you know maybe it’s gonna ruffle some feathers along the way, but that’s alright. You can’t try to please everybody you’re probably not doing it right so journalism has been great for me for both perspectives it’s helped me become smarter and knowledgeable about topics within our industry but also it’s been a great marketing tool.

What are some big trends in 3D printing media that you are kind of looking out for in the media or with 3D printing in general in the media?

That’s a good question. The problem with 3d printing is it goes through hype cycles right, and we went through that and call it 2009 through 2012 and then maybe again over the last couple years like 14 to 16, where it gets the attention and hype of the mainstream press. Then it goes into a lull where it’s not quite as covered maybe as it would have been and then you know it goes back into one of these hype cycles again. I think we’re probably hitting a little bit of a lull to some degree with mainstream media, but that’s okay because you know what’s happened is there’s been a big shift in 3D printing from this concept that everybody was going to have a 3d printer in their home and make everything that they wanted to ever need to back to this is more of an industrial and commercial opportunity where it’s going to impact consumers because they’re going to be able to get better products faster and potentially less expensively. They’re not going to manufacture them in their home and that’s just not as glamorous to the mainstream media. Maybe you know it’s very important to industrial publications and trade publications and you know that kind of thing but it’s just not glamorous to Forbes in a Wall Street Journal and those kinds of publications and you know. I think it’s going to be that way for a long time even if 3D printing in the home becomes ubiquitous like inkjet printing where everybody has one. It’ll probably follow the same model. Less than 10% of all the pages produced are produced on those devices. The vast majority are printed for pay by somebody else, and the likeliness is that in 3D printing the same thing will happen now. Who that is and where and how are all up for debate but that’s the sign of a growing and big market. I mean look at how HP just did a deal with Smile Direct for 50 machines and that was big. Somebody made a lot of money on that deal and there are going to be orders that are five times that size as this market continues to grow. When you’re selling an order of five million or ten million dollars a pop that starts to build some scale pretty quickly. Even more than 50 million or 100 million versus you know small desktop printer, it’s just not the model that’s gonna work.

Customization is pretty cool it when it comes to 3D printing – what are you thoughts on specific industries that can really benefit from customization?

The medical industry certainly has been the leader in that charge so far. When you look at the hearing aid business or you look at dental aligners or you look at prosthetics or orthotics, all of those have been what I would tag as killer applications so far out of the gate.  Almost every one of them relies heavily on customization and personalization but you know there are plenty of other consumer products that are going to be a big. Automotive has a lot of potential. There are other markets where customization and personalization is gonna play. One value add people think of when they get a new technology a new digital technology like this is on-demand manufacturing. I firmly believe and I’ve written about this a lot, that speed to market is probably the bigger opportunity in the end. It doesn’t even matter whether or not it’s competitive with what you’re gonna pay to mass-produce something it’s a matter of how fast you can get it to market and if there’s any kind of sensitivity around timing whatsoever either a competitive environment or you know it’s marketing in the moment there’s some trend you’re trying to hit right now. I think speed to market is probably the one that drives the greatest growth and end-use production parts. There is always friction when you’re attempting to customize or personalize.

3DPOD Episode 9: 3D Printing Prosthetics, Interview with Scott Summit

On this episode, we interview Scott Summit. Scott is a great guy and also a pioneer in using 3D printing in medicine. Scott is an industrial designer who tells us about his journey from Apple and design agencies into the world of 3D printing. He developed the first 3D printed prosthetics in the world. He also pioneered the idea that you can make prosthetic devices beautiful. He later produced the first 3D printed scoliosis braces and postoperative braces. We had a great chat with Scott who told us about his path and gave some very insightful answers also. With me in Italy, Max having a late night in Hong Kong, Jake (who produces the podcast) in the states, we spoke with Scott who was crisscrossing Amsterdam per bicycle. A great little episode if I do say so myself.

The first podcast on going beyond PLA is here, our interview with Direct Dimensions CEO Michael Raphael is here while our interview with design pioneer Janne is here. Our episode on bioprinting is here3D printing in medicine is here3D printed guns is here. and here is the fourth industrial revolution, all of them are here. You can find them on Spotify here.

Interview with Dr. Jenny Chen of 3DHEALS on Bioprinting and 3D Printing in Healthcare

A few years ago I started to notice a stream of interesting information coming from radiologist Jenny Chen. She was taking it upon herself to organize medical professionals the world over. She wanted to get Doctors and researchers in rooms together to learn, discuss and share information. 3DHEALS sprang from this enthusiasm. Now active the world over this organization brings together people in gatherings large and small. Professionals can now learn from each other directly and help innovate in bioprinting and 3D printing for healthcare. Isolated islands of information now can become shared torrents of understanding and knowledge. I really believe that 3DHEALS will do a lot to accelerate 3D printing in medicine. A lot of people are enthusiastic now but do not know where to start and where to learn. For bioprinting, 3DHEALS has become that central global hub. We interviewed Jenny Chen to find out more about 3DHEALS.

Who are the 3DHEALS members, and why did you start it? 

As a radiologist, 3D printing blurs the line between the digital imaging world and the physical world. Three years ago, I wanted to make my models to help the surgeons I work with, but there was no clear pathway. In addition to cost, the software and hardware were both challenging to use. There was no instruction. That’s why I started 3DHEALS to meet people who could help me with achieving my own goal of making a model. Initially, this was a small meetup group in San Francisco, but very soon, the group attracted talented professions from many different disciplines: engineering, healthcare providers, entrepreneurs, investors, students/residents, scientists, and more. Everyone brings in unique expertise and perspectives, and our meetings soon become more organized educational events, first in San Francisco, then all over the world.

So, in short, 3DHEALS intends to break down barriers between people and welcome everyone interested in using 3D printing technology in healthcare to join the conversation.

What is its purpose? 

3DHEALS’ goals are:

To connect innovators and early adopters on a single platform in healthcare 3D printing, bioprinting, and related technologies.
To educate communities worldwide in a single language that everyone understands.

To discover startups/innovators in every corner of the world and give them a stage to be visible.

What is holding back 3D printing in hospitals?

We have published multiple blogs from various experts all over the world in our “Expert Corner” section focusing on this particular topic, and these experts are in the trenches every day trying to tackle this very question. However, to sum up, these opinions are 1) Lack of knowledge. Hospitals that are at the forefront of using 3D printing often have in-house advocates. These are often surgeons or radiologists who first had the first-hand experience elsewhere. Their strong voices and persistence will bring administrative attention to this new area of development. 2) The large gap between “costs” and “benefits.” Costs include the cost of hardware and materials, staffing, opportunity cost (space + time), potential liability risk, etc. Benefits include improved workflow (i.e., decreased turn-around time), clinical outcome improvement, the pathway to more reimbursement, etc. This gap remains at a level unpalatable to many hospitals that don’t have enough R&D budget like the Mayo Clinic, for example. 3DHEALS had explored the financial aspect of implementing 3D printing for pre-surgical planning in-depth in one of our earlier publication (A Roadmap from Idea to Implementation: 3D Printing for Pre-Surgical Application: Operational Management for 3D Printing in Surgery), which still applies today.

What is holding back 3D printing in medicine? 

Not enough education, not enough expert network, not enough innovation/startups is holding back 3D printing in medicine.

It is not just a problem of healthcare; it is a problem of an entire ecosystem. This ecosystem should include many different members, ranging from engineering schools having an additive manufacturing curriculum for biomedical students to 3D printing companies that can look beyond currently a limited number of healthcare products (e.g., braces, aligners, etc.), all requiring nonconformists.

Are you a big believer in personalized medicine? 

If I am picking words here, I would argue that medicine has always “intended” to be personalized, and not a single patient I know wanted to be treated as an “average.” That’s human, we value individualism, and we have an ego. However, in reality, we know medicine often treats us as a part of an algorithm.

If I have to forecast, I think “decentralized medicine” AND “personalized medicine” will be the way our future healthcare will look like. 3D printing can enable both of these goals. I have written a few blogs recently talking about this vision of decentralized healthcare, where the hospitals will play a diminishing role as care provider, if not significantly different position.

What do you think of bioprinting?

Bioprinting is a fascinating field to me because it not only includes all the fantastic capabilities of 3D printing, but also combines stem cell technologies, material sciences, and biological sciences. I believe these elements will play a significant role in future medical innovations, whether or not bioprinting “survives.”

The subject became a hot topic because of its potential role in organ regeneration, but I would argue that if people want to solve that problem, then they should focus on that problem, regardless of the solution, bioprinting or not. They should open up their options to include any regenerative techniques available and not limited to just bioprinting.

On the other hand, from a different angle, if a bioprinting company wants to thrive for the long run, then it should think about what products it can produce are the most scalable and profitable with its technologies.

What are the best resources for doctors/hospitals to learn on implementing 3D printing?

I would recommend they check out 3DHEALS website. There are several main things they can take advantage of:
Read the “Expert Corner” blogs: Many of them address the issues they will encounter at any stage of the implementation.
Check out the “Influencer Interviews” section of the website: This is where they can figure out who is doing what so that they can directly connect with individuals that can be their mentors or collaborators directly.

Attend 3DHEALS events. We have had 70+ events all over the world, aiming to build local communities and connecting global hub without the high cost of attending conferences. That said, we are working on 3DHEALS2020, so stay tuned.
In terms of non-3DHEALS events/resources, I recommend SME and RSNA-SIG, both have dedicated individuals focusing on accelerating the adoption of 3D printing into healthcare, from different organizational angles.

I’ve always wondered why there isn’t more “non-critical” 3D printing going on, e.g., post-operative braces?

There are a lot of these activities. However, in the past, similar to a lack of adoption in hospitals, the same economic barriers apply. The gap between “costs” and “benefits” remains wide enough to not allow any such business into the profitable zone. Without profit, this type of practice will remain in the “nonprofit” world, which unfortunately often does not provide consistent products due to lack of funding, staffing, and other concurrent socioeconomic challenges unrelated to the technology (e.g., lack of electricity, transportation, etc.). That said, I do believe this gap is narrowing, and I have seen several startups in recent years that are showing promise to survive, both in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors (e.g., Mecuris, Xkelet, Victoria Hand Project, Protesis, etc.). So, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Does someone need to develop the perfect 3D printer for hospitals?

I would expand “hospital” to “healthcare” because the hospital is only one type of potential buyer of 3D printing technology. Since based on my theory that hospital will eventually play a diminishing role in our healthcare, I would urge innovators to focus on the result of improving a specific aspect of healthcare, for example, on-demand personalized 3D printed splints, implants, surgical tools, etc., then focusing on a specific buyer. There are so many new players in healthcare these days, and it may very well be Amazon or Apple that will be the “buyer,” rather than a hospital.

What happens at a 3DHEALS event?

The format of having people from different backgrounds to have direct conversations with one another is inspiring to attendees and well received. At 3DHEALS events, ideas can become a reality, blueprints can be an actual product. Together, people share the vision that 3D Printing will be one of the major forces that will revolutionize healthcare in the next 10-20 years.

In the past two years, with the help of 30+ dedicated community managers, 3DHEALS has grown from a single city to now over 20+ cities all over the world and growing. Therefore, there is a definite interest in the subject, and the format is working. Today, we are actively building 3DHEALS both offline and online, and wish geography will no longer pose as a barrier for members in this group to connect, innovate, and succeed together.

Our mission will remain to: educate, connect, and discover in healthcare 3D printing and bioprinting space.

3D Printing Industry Expert Interview: Danny Jackson Levy

Danny Jackson Levy is a cross-functional design engineer, providing turnkey solutions using additive manufacturing hardware and design methodologies. He has special interests direct digital manufacturing technologies, medical and dental applications, Addictive Manufacturing, market analysis, open-source 3D Printing for R&D, and 3D/STEM education and curricula development. He works for Fisher Unitech as their 3D printing expert. He also helps run the mHUB lab in Chicago. So without further adieu, tune into our interview.

Ese: Tell me about your educational background?

I moved to Chicago in 2008 and went to Columbia College for Product Design. There where not a lot of people with an art school background in this industry. Different workflows are important. I was able to learn this through my education. This skillset has transferred very well to my career. I also spent a lot of time in the shop at Columbia building projects so that helped me as well. I have always been involved within the maker world.

What got you interested in 3D Printing?

Twitter and a startup really helped me a lot. I was active on twitter and found out about the 3D Printer Experience in Chicago. I then set up shop and got to work. A friend of mine dropped out and became a founder at a startup I worked for as well. Most of what I learned was from hands on experience. It was a lot of work and long nights.

What has changed over time in Chicago since you have been involved with the scene?

A handful of things have changed. The exposure of the field has changed a lot. Way more people are familiar with different tech. People have more access. Positive impacts are made with what is going on in the field. My perception of the field has changed as well. There is a long standing history of manufacturing in Chicago. Too many people feel that it is new, but it really is not new technology. It is important to note people are hyper focused on localized manufacturing. There is a huge mindset that people want to continue new processes to leverage their businesses for the future.

You have had a lot of experience with various products as well as companies trying to leverage 3D Printing. What would you believe are essential components of a product design process?

A willingness for flexibility is really important. People get too focused on a close up view of their product. Perspective is helpful. You have to see beyond what is in front of you. An understanding of tech is crucial as well. Being in mHub, I am able to interface with various levels of people in terms of product development. Engineers may become very focused and may not have an ability to learn even more than their specific sub tasks. Having access is important. Developing a product intently is important. Go try and break things.

 

What are some things that you feel are important for the future of additive manufacturing? What are interesting trends in Chicago?

Changing from outsourcing to insourcing is critical. People know the tech is out there. Coworking at mHub is also a big thing. People want access to this info and machines. Availability is so critical. Shared labs are extremely important. STEM programs and professional development is big now as well. Skill development is big in terms of trends.

I think there are two forms of people within the additive manufacturing field – the creatives and the technical people. Should there be better cross disciplinary thinking encouraged?

Yes. I am a creative thinker. I am the type to hang out with friends and brainstorm endless ideas. I also am interested in the entrepreneurial world. It does not fit into the prototypical engineering role within additive manufacturing. A lot of OEMs hire automotive engineers and engineers straight out of college. It is critical to know mechanical properties. People making waves in this field are finding new ways to print things. It is important to try a different wave of thinking sometimes. It is important to make what you do fun as well. I would love to see people enjoying a hybridization of mindsets. The field would grow more with that.

TextileLab and Fabricademy: Interview with Anastasia Pistofidou on Sustainably 3D Printing Fashion.

Fashion and sustainability are two words that feel as antonyms nowadays. The mass production of clothing and ethically doubtful methods of manufacture give one of the biggest economic forces one of the top rankings of the most polluting sectors. This creates a negative social influence and climatic impact that makes obvious the need for a change to make fashion great again. This issue is not new and many people are working towards a better future. And although the changes come slowly, the mentality and so with it the industry is moving towards a healthier direction.

Picture of a 3D printer printing a sample

3D printing on textiles, one of the innovative methods in fashion industry. 3D printer at Fabricademy. Credit: Anastasia Pistofidou

One of those people who believe in the need for a change in fashion is Anastasia Pistofidou. She is a Greek architect specialized in digital fabrication technologies. Based in Barcelona, currently works as director of the FabTextile research lab and Fabricademy, a new textile and technology academy. The FabTextile project offers an “Open sourcing fashion production for a global innovation ecosystem.”. It is a research platform that seeks a new approach in the fashion industry through the use of technologies as 3D printing or CNC milling.

Taken for FabTextile website:

In Fab Textiles we are developing and implementing a new approach on to how create, produce and distribute fashion elements, by using distributed manufacturing infrastructures and knowledge networks. Fab Textiles offers a cross-disciplinary education and research platform, where production and culture through advanced technologies are making impact in the way we think and act towards the fashion industry.

top view of 3D printed top

3D printed top. Credit: Anastasia Pistofidou

As we have mentioned in other posts, the use of 3D printing in the textile sector is opening a new scope that is oriented towards improving the present landscape of fashion. Although we are still making baby steps before we graduate to major achievements, there are some interesting ways that 3D printing can add to fashion. Some of the positive things 3D printing could bring this field is the possibility of creating tailored garments that waste less material. The capacity to produce locally and improve distribution systems, saving transportation costs and pollution are other benefits. Also, the idea of open source fashion is quite interesting and could shift the way we design clothes, enhancing the customization of pieces to fit personal needs while making fashion more of a collective endeavor.

We asked Anastasia some questions in order to learn more.

Which 3D printers do you use?

We use various 3D printers using FDM technology, mainly BCN and Prusa.

What materials can you print?

We can print in TPU, PLA, Filaflex, nylon.

How would I work with you if I was a fashion designer?

You can make your sketches and patterns in paper and we can 3D model and 3D print them.

Why is what you do important?

Because it is a completely new production process and it used 3D models that are digital and not physical patterns on paper. you can also design directly in 3D, not necessarily in a flat pattern. You can send your 3D file anywhere to be printed, without having to ship garments

What is the added value?

Distributed production, collaborative production, self making, self sustenance.

What are you adding to the 3d printing & fashion world?

Techniques, tutorials, educational material, methodologies, products as showcase, artistic pieces.

Can you actually wear the garments?

Yes, you can.

Can you clean it in a washing machine?

Washing machines may change as well, imagine cleaning your garments as you are cleaning a table, it will be different cleaning method.

Picture of the back of a 3D printed top

3D printed top. Credit: Anastasia Pistofidou

Interview: Markus Glasser, SVP of EOS on Hexo Helmets and consumer 3D printing

Markus Glasser is the Senior Vice President (SVP) of leading industrial 3D printer manufacturer EOS, which has collaborated with UK-based Hexo Helmets to develop 3D printed bicycle helmets. Recently Glasser attended the launch event of the Hexo Helmets, held at the Alphabeta building in London, where we were able to talk and learn more about […]