Jul 25, 2024 Point of care 3D printing (POC 3DP) offers an exciting opportunity to fabricate patient-specific medical devices and models within the clinical setting. Such models can help explain procedures to patients and for surgical planning, while custom-made implants can improve patient care. At our recent 3DHEALS event, we learned about the latest from five experts bringing the future of POC 3DP to life.
Benefits of point-of-care 3D printing
Dr. Mark Tan, Radiologist and Clinical Lead of the Singapore General Hospital 3D Printing Centre, recognizes POC 3DP’s potential to improve treatment efficacy, increase efficiency, expand options for physicians, and increase a hospital’s resiliency during shortages.
Dr. Tan described that POC 3DP can be a crucial component in treating trauma cases where time is limited. The convenience of having a readily accessible 3DP lab within the hospital enables fast turnaround times for printing patient-specific devices and delivering them to surgeons.
Dr. Tan also pointed out that POC can be particularly useful in cases where there is not a high market demand for the hospital’s desired 3D-printed object. Having the capability for a hospital to print itself can help meet that need when outsourcing cannot. Additionally, the proximity of a lab makes it easier for surgeons to provide input while making highly complex surgical guides and other intricate prints.
Starting POC 3DP at a hospital
Shannon Walters, Executive Technical Director of Stanford University’s 3D and Quantitative Imaging Laboratory, shared some important prerequisites for starting POC 3DP.
One starting point for individuals looking to build POC 3DP is acquiring the necessary space for 3D printers, as not all rooms within a clinical facility may be suitable for 3DP. Factors such as adequate ventilation for user safety, proper printer power sources, and the potential for allergic reactions to certain printing materials should be considered. Walters said they could not do powder bed printing after considering allergic reactions.
Another critical component is establishing rapport with the hospital’s specialties by identifying pain points and showing that 3DP can provide value to them. As Dr. Tan mentioned, physicians requiring fast delivery times or frequent input during the process may find value in POC 3DP. Determining how to track the POC 3DP program’s efforts early on becomes valuable for providing evidence to funding sources and securing space.
Walters noted the importance of iterating on and optimizing workflows. Individuals setting up POC 3DP can coach physicians on reducing the number of materials asked for in a print and help them determine whether printing at full scale can be avoided. Other methods include finding better ways to remove support material and identifying better segmentation software.
Another piece of the puzzle is managing 3D printing orders. Chris LeCastillo, Innovations Manager of the Stanford 3D and Quantitative Imaging Laboratory, talked about how they started by taking requests using email and tracking orders using Smartsheet, a third-party management platform. While their foray into POC 3DP had a humble beginning with one FDM printer, LeCastillo showed how their lab successfully scaled up.
Now, the 4-printer, 11-member team receives requests through the medical records system Epic and tracks prints using in-house software. The lab continues to grow by expanding its ordering process to its children’s hospital and building upon its quality management system.
POC 3DP in action: use cases
Dr. Neha Sharma, Deputy Head of the Medical Additive Manufacturing (Swiss MAM) Research Group and the 3D Print Lab at University Hospital Basel, is using POC 3DP to enhance craniomaxillofacial surgeries. Dr. Sharma and colleagues designed an MDR-complaint workflow for 3D printing patient-specific polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cranial implants.
Dr. Sharma described how they used POC 3DP to fabricate a cranial implant for a patient, starting with in-house imaging and design of the implant. They were able to print the device within 4-5 hours, sterilize within the same day, and have it implanted the next day.
Bringing 3D printing into clinical institutions also has the benefit of training residents and healthcare providers who need to become knowledgeable in the increasing use of 3D printing in the medical field. Dr. Sharma presented their outreach activities and courses, including their involvement in the upcoming September Symposium on 3D Printing for Life Sciences in Basel.
Making POC 3DP attainable
An essential step towards advancing POC 3DP is to lower the barrier for hospitals to start innovating in this area. Brian Overshiner, Manager of the Ricoh 3D for Healthcare Innovation Studio, explained to us how the company has created an end-to-end workflow to make POC 3DP more attainable for hospitals.
With a press of a button, physicians can directly send patient scans from their hospital’s radiology viewer to Ricoh and work with their biomedical engineers to segment the images. This focus on creating end-to-end platforms streamlines the handling of the various logistics involved in POC 3DP, such as Ricoh’s feature of incorporating a quality control management system into this process.
Recently, the company announced their POC 3DP manufacturing facility with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist to produce patient-specific anatomical models.
Outlook for POC 3DP
While POC 3DP presents substantial benefits, several challenges remain. For example, Walters noted that it is optional for healthcare insurance to cover 3D printing as part of a patient’s care. Such coverage, however, does not pay for other essential components such as technologists, materials, and printers. Dr. Sharma also talked about how reimbursements are still not covered in Europe even if hospital management sees the value in 3D printing. Managing these costs will be necessary for POC 3DP programs in the future.
Building the necessary quality management system and taking steps to ensure regulatory compliance for POC 3DP will also be critical for hospitals moving forward.
While POC 3DP has its fair share of logistical challenges, the opportunity to bring the customizability of 3DP to the clinic will propel patient care further with improved implants and increased use of patient-specific anatomical models. Sharing and commercializing solutions to these logistical hurdles, such as print management software and quality control systems, can be an effective path forward. To join our future events live and stay updated with the latest in this area, subscribe to 3DHEALS.
About the Author:
Peter Hsu
Peter Hsu is an editorial intern for 3DHEALS. He is currently an undergraduate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and studies bioengineering with a focus on cell and tissue engineering. He is also minoring in computer science with interests in artificial intelligence and image processing. Peter conducts research on using computer vision methods to analyze human tissue images and improving the robustness of machine learning workflows. He is interested in the use of AI to assist tissue engineering and bioprinting research for medical applications. He is passionate about science communication and leads STEM outreach lessons at schools in the central Illinois area.
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