The DOI matches its Crossref record; 10 of the 10 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Three-dimensional printing surgical instruments: are we there yet?
Open accessAbstract
Background The applications for rapid prototyping have expanded dramatically over the last 20 years. In recent years, additive manufacturing has been intensely investigated for surgical implants, tissue scaffolds, and organs. There is, however, scant literature to date that has investigated the viability of 3D printing of surgical instruments. Materials and Methods Using a fused deposition manufacturing (FDM) printer, an army/ navy surgical retractor was replicated from polylactic acid (PLA) filament. The retractor was sterilized using standard FDA approved glutaraldehyde protocols, tested for bacteria by PCR, and stressed until fracture in order to determine if the printed instrument could tolerate force beyond the demands of an operating room. Results Printing required roughly 90 minutes. The instrument tolerated 13.6 kg of tangential force before failure, both before and after exposure to the sterilant. Freshly extruded PLA from the printer was sterile and produced no PCR product. Each instrument weighed 16g and required only $0.46 of PLA. Conclusions Our estimates place the cost per unit of a 3D printed retractor to be roughly 1/10th the cost of a stainless steel instrument. The PLA Army/ Navy is strong enough for the demands of the operating room. Freshly extruded PLA in a clean environment, such as an OR, would produce a sterile, ready to use instrument. Due to the unprecedented accessibility of 3D printing technology world wide, and the cost efficiency of these instruments, there are far reaching implications for surgery in some underserved and less developed parts of the world.
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3D Printing and Neurosurgery—Ready for Prime Time?
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Applications of PLA in modern medicine
DeStefano, V., Khan, S., & Tabada, A. (2020) · Engineered Regeneration · doi:10.1016/j.engreg.2020.08.002 · Cited by 547
Emerging Applications of Bedside 3D Printing in Plastic Surgery
Chae, M. P., Rozen, W. M., McMenamin, P. G., Findlay, M. W., Spychal, R. T., & Hunter-Smith, D. J. (2015) · Frontiers in Surgery · doi:10.3389/fsurg.2015.00025 · Cited by 377
The role of additive manufacturing for biomedical applications: A critical review
Kumar, R., Kumar, M., & Chohan, J. S. (2021) · Journal of Manufacturing Processes · doi:10.1016/j.jmapro.2021.02.022 · Cited by 367
Metadata
- Authors
- Rankin, T. M., Giovinco, N. A., Cucher, D. J., Watts, G., Hurwitz, B., & Armstrong, D. G.
- Venue
- Journal of Surgical Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-06
- Volume
- 189
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 193-197
- ISSN
- 0022-4804 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1975350943
- Cited by
- 275
- References
- 10
- FWCI
- 29.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
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