3D LifePrints (3DLP) is based in the Innovation Hub at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, with the aim of bringing affordable 3D printing to the NHS.
It uses MRI or CT data (DICOM) to create a 3D printed anatomical model that can apply to both organs and bone structures.
The models help in pre-surgical assessment so that following a CT or MR scan, a 3D model can be printed so that a surgeon does not have to interpret the scans on a screen. They can also be used as educational aids for medical students and trainee nurses by providing low cost, specific and hard wearing examples of healthy and damaged anatomical structures.
There are 5 million CT scans per year in the NHS and it is estimated that 10% of those could benefit from a 3D printed model in improving surgical success rates and lowering hospital operational costs.
Rather than traditional sales methods, the company aims to form partnerships with hospitals so that medical staff can see at first-hand the benefits of low cost 3D printing.
It is currently running a study with the orthopaedic team at Alder Hey concerning hip dysplasia.
Further clinical trials include:
with Alder Hey for learning with ankle fractures and for skull and soft tissues overlays for cranio-facial operative practice;
with Edinburgh University for operative learning;
with Sheffield University for facial prosthetics;
and with Liverpool John Moores University for micro-cardiac structures.
You can find out more by visiting their website http://3dlifeprints.com/global-portfolio/