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It’s all about medical in this weekend’s 3D Printing News Briefs. BellaSeno established a clinical advisory board. MedCad is donating 3D printed facial implants to war-injured Ukrainians, and researchers in Hamburg are helping with pre-surgical planning for tibial fracture operations. We’ll end with consumer goods: a 3D printed lamp inspired by a paper lantern.
BellaSeno’s 3D printed resorbable scaffold. Image courtesy of BellaSeno.
ISO 13485-certified medtech company BellaSeno, which uses 3D printing to make resorbable scaffolds for bones and breast implants, recently announced the establishment of a Clinical Advisory Board, ahead of an upcoming pivotal clinical trial. These seven key opinion leaders (KOLs) in the plastic surgery and clinical breast reconstruction fields are top international experts, and will support the clinical development of BellaSeno’s resorbable breast implants. The new Clinical Advisory Board welcomes board-certified plastic surgeons Dr. William P. Adams, Jr., Associate Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center; Dr. Bob Basu, MD, MBA, MPH, Founder and Managing Director of Basu Aesthetics + Plastic Surgery and incoming President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons; Dr. Michael Edwards, Past President of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS); and Dr. Caroline Glicksman, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Other members are plastic surgeon Dr. Patricia McGuire, President of the Aesthetic Society’s education and research foundation; Prof. Anand Deva, Head of Cosmetic, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Macquarie University and founder of Integrated Breast Health Clinics; and Dr. Mark L. Jewell, Assistant Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery at Oregon Health Science University.
“We are delighted to have established a Clinical Advisory Board comprised of so many high-profile plastic surgeons and clinicians with outstanding experience in all relevant breast surgery procedures. All experts are board-certified plastic surgeons with extensive training from prestigious institutions. They have each contributed significantly to the advancement of aesthetic and reconstructive surgery through active roles in clinical research,” said BellaSeno’s CEO Mohit Chhaya.
MedCAD 3D printed implant
Since Russia’s invasion began in 2022, many in the AM industry have pledged their support to Ukraine, by suspending business with Russia, helping with prosthetics, and enabling in-field battle damage repair. Texas-based medtech company MedCAD creates personalized medical devices and surgical plans for cranial defects, oral surgery, craniomaxillofacial (CMF) trauma, and foot and ankle procedures, and donated custom 3D printed titanium facial implants to four Ukrainian patients who suffered massive facial trauma as a result of the ongoing war. MedCAD provided the implants at no cost, using detailed CT scans sent by Ukrainian doctors to develop personalized 3D surgical plans to make the implants. Because the patients lost bone structure as a result of their injuries, titanium was chosen for the implants due to its strength and biocompatibility. Dallas oculoplastic surgeon Dr. Jorge Corona hand-carried the implants to Kyiv, where he led a U.S. team of facial reconstruction specialists in performing the patient-matched reconstructive surgeries on the four critically injured patients.
“These are not just custom implants — they’re hope made tangible. This mission underscores how American innovation and compassion can directly improve lives, even in the middle of a war zone,” said Nancy Hairston, President and CEO of MedCAD.
3D printing station with a Ultimaker S5 FDM 3D printer (A,B,D) and a support dissolving station (C).
One of the most challenging tasks in orthopedic trauma surgery is treating complex tibial plateau fractures, or TPFs, so appropriate preoperative planning is necessary to achieve success and give patients a positive outcome. Noting the success of 3D printing for pre-surgical planning in other joint regions, researchers at the University Medical Center Hamburg decided to look into the impact of point-of-care 3D printing for TPF preoperative management. They tasked four senior surgeons, three junior surgeons, ten surgical residents, and five students to simulate pre-op planning of 22 TPFs, taking into account patient positioning, treatment concept, operative approach, and finally implant selection and positioning. The participants (raters) first completed this task with CT scans, which were processed using Materialise Mimics software. They then used 3D volumetric reconstructions, and finally 3D printed tibia fracture models, built using an Ultimaker S5. As the researchers detailed in their study, the raters gained additional information 76% of the time using the 3D printed model.
“We analyzed the inter- and intraobserver agreement and the subjective perceived confidence of the rater regarding his decision with the different imaging modalities across the different levels of professional experience. Statistics were performed using kappa values, percentage match (PM) analysis and a univariate one-way analysis of variance. The use of 3D printing had no effect on the interobserver reliability of treatment concept selection (PM CT 83% > 3DCT 83% > 3D 82%). However, descriptively higher kappa and percentage match values increased for agreement on patient positioning and surgical approach using 3D printed fracture models. In addition, the raters selected the implants that were actually used to treat the fractures in 63% of the cases. The subjective perceived certainty of the raters increased with the use of 3D printing technology from 45% (CT and 3DCT) to 60% (3D),” the team wrote in their abstract.
“The use of 3D printed fracture models showed a trend toward higher interrater reliability of patient positioning and surgical approach for medical students and surgical residents, while experienced surgeons show less benefit. In addition, 3D-printed models supported implant pre-selection and increased subjective confidence, positively influencing preoperative planning.”
Brooklyn design studio Wooj uses 3D printing to make home goods, and its latest is the Farolito Light. Warm, flickering light can be very calming, and Wooj replicated this look with its 3D printed lamp, which was inspired by the popular paper bag lanterns, or farolitos, found in New Mexico. Traditional farolitos, also known as luminaria, are made by placing a votive candle inside a paper bag. Wooj, led by founder and design Sean Kim, used 3D printed bioplastic and a Bambu Lab 3D printer to replicate the unique look and opacity of a paper bag. A glowing 3D printed square features simulated folds, making the Farolito Light look much more delicate than it actually is. The Wooj team is drawn to forms and shapes that would be difficult to fabricate with traditional manufacturing, and their products are rooted in natural materials. They use recycled PLA for the shade and base of the lamp, which weighs about 1.3 lbs. All of the studio’s products are designed, manufactured, assembled, and shipped on a made-to-order basis, and they even include the bulb for the Farolito Light!
🏷️ p3d_feed“The Farolito Lamp, named for the paper bag lanterns popularized in New Mexico, takes distinct features of the unassuming and ubiquitous paper lunch bag – notches often seen at the top of the bag are present around the base, the distinct crease where the bag gets folded and flat packed can be seen on two sides of the shade – to create a lamp that is inspired but whimsical and unique in its own right,” Wooj wrote on its website.