3-D Printing
In the article “Heart Implants, 3-D – Printed to Order” by Katherine Bourzac, Bourzac (2014) discusses how the science community has advanced to where they are experimenting with 3-D printing to enhance treatment of heart conditions. Scientists have recently used a 3-D printer in conjunction with various cardiac images to produce a 3-D replica of the desired heart (Bourzac, 2014). Using this replica heart, scientists are working on creating thin wrinkle-free sheets incorporated with greater sensing capabilities that will cover the individual’s heart to enhance monitoring (Bourzac, 2014).
It’s inspiring to witness how far science is coming in regards to the advancement of medicine. I greatly feel that the use of 3-D printing will enhance patient care because it will enable doctors to specialize equipment and treatment to the individual, allowing the necessary equipment to better fit within the individual anatomy and ensure that all anatomical areas are addressed. Additionally, as Bourzac (2014) explained, current implanted defibrillators only use a couple electrodes to monitor heart rhythm and could potentially make the wrong decision to shock the patient because of only two monitoring sites. With the use of sheets filled with sensors, hardware such as the defibrillator will receive input from many sites around the entire heart. This will allow more precise treatment that is based on feedback from the entire heart and not just certain aspects of it.
Overall, I think the potential of these scientific advances is astronomical to medicine. Although much can be determined about a patient’s heart from various medical tests and scans, creating a 3-D version of the heart to test theories and equipment and applying additional, individualized sensors on the heart takes more of the guesswork out of the treatment. Patients receiving this form of care will hopefully benefit greatly from this scientific breakthrough.
References:
Bourzac, K. (2014). Heart Implants, 3-D- – Printed to Order. Retrieved from:
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/525221/heart-implants-3-d-printed-to- order/
