The idea of having an irreparably damaged bone scanned, a titanium copy created in a replicator and then surgically inserted into our bodies seems more Star Trek science fiction than modern-day medicine. But advances in three-dimensional printing and a key piece of breakthrough software mean that, within a year, this will be a reality.
Other three dimensional printers are already available and in use for rapid prototyping. A goal for some engineers is to create 3D printers which can copy themselves, in other words, reproduce!
..."Firstly, they are much lighter as, like human bone, they are porous rather than solid. And having an internal mesh means you can fuse the implant to the bone, so the natural bone will grow into the holes and lock itself in. Because it's a porous structure, you can x-ray the - implant and see how the natural bone is melding with the implant. And, though these e-manufactured implants are only a quarter of the weight of solid ones, the laser makes a finer material than cast metal - so is it is actually stronger than the current technology."
E-manufacturing implants could have a surprising number of benefits for the health service. ...- guardianUK
Perhaps future generations of these artificial bones will be able to "print" their own repairs in a way that even if 10% of the original still existed, it would heal.
3 comments:
"I have not removed content from the Guardian UK web site. It is still there."
You're not being accused of removing it. You're being accused of copying it, which is illegal, whether you like it or not...
Xeno,
Call it what you want. This is very clearly just cut and paste. At least have the dignity to create the content if you'r going to post it.
Looks like there's more than one "Anne" or "Ann" that visits your site, Xeno.
Is Charles the "web police" for the Guardian?
Sad, I had thought the Guardian was a little more left, more people-oriented, than to complain about the copying and pasting of one article!
Doesn't Mr. Charles know that by the mere fact that Xeno is using the article from the Guardian, he is advertising for the Guardian?
It's like, you know, guerrilla advertising via the internet.
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