[Technology changes life] 3D printing: tailor-made "bones" for patients
"Doctor Liu, I went out to exercise with my colleagues at noon."
"I take my kids to do gymnastics at night and sometimes run together."
"Learning to swim has been delayed for a long time, I want to learn it this year..."
Liu Zhongjun, director of the Department of Surgery of Peking University Third Hospital, is delighted every time he receives good news from patients.
Ms. Chen, who is in her 30s, was diagnosed with an axial tumor three years ago and needed surgery, but after the operation, she had to wear an external support on the cervical spine - screw a metal screw to the skull, put on a hard vest, and then A metal rod is used to connect the headband to the vest to keep the head and cervical spine in place.
This "metal armor" is uncomfortable to wear!
And it can be worn for as little as 3 months, as much as a year or even several years.
Fortunately, Ms. Chen underwent a 3D-printed artificial vertebral body replacement, and her neck function has now returned to normal.
"I can't imagine what my life would be like without 3D printing technology," Ms. Chen said.
There are many patients like Ms. Chen who have benefited from this new technology.
There are important spinal cords, nerves and blood vessels running in and around the human spine. For a long time, the surgical treatment of spinal tumors is full of unknowns and dangers. If there is a slight error, the patient will be permanently paralyzed or even lost his life.
Liu Zhongjun leads the team and has been devoted to the treatment of spinal tumors for many years.
He told reporters that in addition to the risks of surgery, there are often troubles during treatment. For example, if a tumor is to be completely removed, it is inevitable to remove a section of the spine. How to repair it has become an urgent problem to be solved.
The international common method is to use titanium mesh support, that is, fill some broken bones in a titanium alloy mesh cage to replace the original vertebral body, but the vertebral body adjacent to the titanium mesh is easy to collapse after the operation, and the intervertebral height is difficult to maintain. , and the postoperative recovery time is too long, which brings great pain to the patient.
"As a doctor, I have the responsibility to relieve the pain of patients." It was in the confusion of seeking innovative solutions that Liu Zhongjun keenly paid attention to the emerging 3D printing technology.
In 2009, he began to lead the team to carry out research. After unremitting efforts, the world's first 3D printed artificial vertebral body was born in his hands. Liu Zhongjun has also become the pioneer in the world to apply 3D printed implants in the field of spine surgery.
What excites him is that 3D printing can not only make more suitable implants, but also the titanium alloy vertebral body can be designed with a sponge-like microporous structure, so that the bone cells of the adjacent normal vertebral body can grow into it, Finally, the fusion is realized, and the firmness is greatly enhanced.
Today, with the continuous development of 3D printing technology, more and more difficult diseases can be cured if they are not cured, and some common diseases are better treated with this technology.
For example, using 3D printed acetabular cup for hip replacement not only has good effect, but also the price is only 1/3 of similar foreign products; using 3D printing technology to repair bone defects, patients do not need to undergo repair process for several months or even several days. Years of bone tissue transplantation or artificial bone augmentation with better stability.
Not long ago, Ms. Lin, 34, faced amputation due to a car accident.
3D printing technology saved her!
After more than seven hours of surgery, the bone defect of more than 20 cm was repaired and she is now able to walk with assisted weight bearing.
She said: "The new technology not only relieved my physical pain, but also gave me back the courage and confidence to live."
"In medicine, independent innovation is the way out!" How can more people benefit from technological innovation?
Liu Zhongjun and his team have been thinking deeply about whether they can find better materials as fillers; whether they can attach growth-promoting drugs to the surface of the endoplants to make the bones grow faster; can they put them in the micropores of the endoplants? They need to overcome these problems one by one by using sustained-release drugs to treat diseases while supporting them.
(Reporter Tian Yating of this newspaper)