3D Printing in Medicine

This book describes the fundamentals of three-dimensional (3D) printing, addresses the practical aspects of establishing a 3D printing service in a medical facility, and explains the enormous potential value of rendering images as 3D printed models capable of providing tactile feedback and tangible information on both anatomic and pathologic states. Individual chapters also focus on selected areas of applications for 3D printing, including musculoskeletal,  craniomaxillofacial, cardiovascular, and neurosurgery applications. Challenges and opportunities related to training, materials and equipment, and guidelines are addressed, and the overall costs of a 3D printing lab and the balancing of these costs against clinical benefits are discussed. Radiologists, surgeons, and other physicians will find this book to be a rich source of information on the practicalities and expanding medical applications of 3D printing.

Frank J. Rybicki, MD, PhD, is Professor and Chair of Radiology at the University of Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital. Dr. Rybicki introduced wide-area detector CT to radiology in 2007, focused on cardiac computed tomography. Dr. Rybicki was the founding and first Chairperson of the Radiological Society of North America Special Interest Group on 3D printing and is the Editor-in-Chief of 3D Printing in Medicine.

Gerald T. Grant, DMD, MS, FACP received his D.M.D. degree from the University of Louisville, School of Dentistry in 1985 and his specialty training in Maxillofacial Prosthetics from the Naval Postgraduate Dental School, Bethesda, Maryland in 1999. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Prosthodontics. Dr. Grant has over 15 years of experience in the use of digital design and 3D printing in customized medical and dental care in both research and application. He directed the development and was Service Chief of the 3D Medical Applications Center, Department of Radiology, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, one of the first and largest in-hospital services, providing medical models, surgical guides, and custom medical/dental devices world-wide to US military facilities for Wounded Warrior care. He is currently retired after 33 years from the United States Navy and is a Professor and Interim Chair of the Oral Health and Rehabilitation Department at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry where he has developed collaborative research teams with the Schools of Medicine, Engineering, and Dentistry for Advanced Digital Applications in the design and fabrication of medical devices for craniofacial reconstruction, dental restoration and rehabilitation, and recently in bio-printing/bio-fabrication.