3 boys saved by customized airway tube made on 3-D printer

Source: AP-Excite

By LAURAN NEERGAARD

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a striking example of how 3-D printers could customize medical care, doctors turned powdered plastic into tiny devices that saved the lives of three baby boys by holding open defective airways so they could breathe — and the implants even expanded as the tots grew.

These experimental airway splints actually change shape over time, adding what researchers call a fourth dimension that is key for growing children as the implants first expand and later, when no longer needed, harmlessly dissolve.

"We are using laser light to transform dust into medical devices that change how the body develops," said lead researcher Dr. Glenn Green, a pediatric ear, nose and throat specialist at the University of Michigan. "It is a concept that would have been inconceivable" not too many years ago.

Green's team made headlines in 2013 with initial success in treating the first baby, Kaiba Gionfriddo.

FULL story at link.



This handout photo provided by the family and the University of Michigan Health System shows Ian Orbich of Pittsburgh, 17 months old, who received an experimental airway splint a year ago to help him breathe. University of Michigan researchers used a 3-D printer to create the devices that held open weakened airways in three boys, credited with saving their lives. (University of Michigan Health System via AP)


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150429/us-med--3-d_printing-airways-7058331d07.html