How 3-D Printing Is Revolutionizing Medicine at Cleveland Cl
Today, patient-customized medical devices can be more readily accessible thanks to three-dimensional (3-D) printing.

Just as an inkjet printer reproduces a digital image with ink and paper, a 3-D printer reproduces a digital model – often derived from high-resolution CT or MRI scans – with resin, thermoplastics, photopolymers or other materials. By stacking the material layer by layer, 3-D printing builds physical objects, often within hours.

In the case of the respiratory patient, Cleveland Clinic surgeons used 3-D technology not to manufacture the actual stent but to customize a mold. Silicone was injected into the mold, around a mandrel, to create a stent sized and shaped for the patient....