Two years ago, we saw a remarkable advance in 3D printing technology: a professor and a doctor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor designed a splint to open the collapsing windpipe of a baby. A licensing agreement signed this month between these specialists and the 3D printing company Materialise will help such splints become a medical norm.
The success story was very unique – Hollister and Green custom printed the splint and weren’t certain it would work. Two years later, three more infants have been saved by similar splints, but each one has been a custom case: the University of Michigan is the only place one can receive such treatment. Now the researchers are working with the Belgium-based Materialise to bring their invention to a wider audience.
"This agreement is a critical step in our goal to make this treatment readily available for other children who suffer from this debilitating condition," says Dr. Green in an Ann Arbor article. He and Professor Hollister have been streamlining the production of the tracheal splints over the years, and he now believes that the technology is ready to be released to the public. In his words,
"We have continued to evolve and automate the design process for the splints, allowing us to achieve in two days what used to take us up to five days to accomplish. I feel incredibly privileged to be building products that surgeons can use to save lives."
Under the licensing agreement, U-M researchers are still able to perform research on the splint and continue to improve it. Meanwhile, they will receive funding and support from Materialise, which provides professional 3D printing in several industries, such as health care, automotive, and consumer products. For more detailed funding statistics regarding the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, read on with our Funding Statistics and Vendor Show Info report:
Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. pays a visit to the University of Michigan each year for its Ann Arbor BioResearch Product Faire™ held annually. Our next Ann Arbor event will be on July 28th, 2016. Biotechnology Calendar is a full service event company that has produced on-campus, life science research trade shows nationwide for the past 20 years. We plan and promote each event to bring the best products and services to the finest research campuses across the country. If you are a university researcher or a laboratory product vendor, consider attending one of our on-campus trade shows. You can click below to view pricing for the Ann Arbor show or have a look at our 2015 schedule or our new 2016 schedule of events for a wider geographic selection.