Whether by developing 3D prostheses or applications for the early detection of diseases, new technologies continue to revolutionize health. Here’s a look at some of the latest innovations.
Valves, jaws and all types of prostheses: 3D to the rescue of medicine
3D printing makes it possible to produce completely personalized objects, such as hearing aids that adapt specifically to the shape of each person’s ear. Its use is therefore all the more useful, even essential in medicine, where “objects” such as implants or prostheses must be adapted specifically to each anatomy. At the University of Munich in Germany, researchers have developed artificial 3D-printed heart valve “scaffolds” that should allow patients to generate new tissue from their own body cells. In the long term, heart valve implants that grow with the patient will be created, which represents a small revolution: a lasting therapeutic option for life, especially for children, who today must regularly change prostheses. In the Netherlands, to replace the lower jaw of a cancer patient, a titanium prosthesis was successfully implanted for the first time in a cancer patient. Thanks to this 3D printed mandible, the prosthesis was able to adapt exactly to the shape and weight of the original mandible.
3D modeling to reduce manufacturing costs
Another important advance: the start-up Inali has designed low-cost robotic arms that respond, unlike traditional prostheses which are controlled by muscle movements, to cerebral impulses, which makes the arm more precise. Designed in India, where many patients cannot afford imported prostheses, thanks to Dassault Systems’ 3DEXPERIENCE Lab, the startup’s prosthesis is 3D modeled, allowing the model to be tested in 3D before manufacturing a physical unit , thus saving a lot of time, energy and money.
Software for more precision in the diagnosis and treatment of neuro-oncological and neuropsychiatric disorders
For ever earlier detection, several new technologies are focusing on how to make more accurate diagnoses. With data, intelligent imagery analysis, cloud and high computing power, doctors and researchers can use software to detect tumors or diseases. Thanks to artificial intelligence, we can now see hidden tumors in mammograms, analyze “ almost in real time » a brain tumor while the patient is on the operating table, interpreting, from the imaging data, clues of subtle changes in the images suggestive of the presence of Alzheimer’s disease and even detecting the caries more effectively.