Mimaki
Mimaki 3DUJ-553
Mimaki recently published a case study about Erler Zimmer, an anatomical model-making company using Mimaki 3D printers. Andreas Falk, COO of Earlier Zimmer, contributed to the study.
In the study, the importance of cadavers in the teaching of anatomical science and medicine is explained. Mimaki stated that historically the ability to dissect and examine what is close to a real body has been of paramount importance to understanding anatomy.
The study says in recent years it has become apparent that 3D printing holds the potential to ‘revolutionise’ medical education, with universities, hospitals, medical professionals and experts alike harnessing the technology to replicate parts of the human body in photorealistic detail.
Mimaki
Erler Zimmer medical model printed on Mimaki 3DUJ-553
The claim is made in the study that 3D printing renders cadavers obsolete, and the company's 3DUJ Series are an improvement upon that of old powder-based printed models used in hospitals and universities.
The main issues associated with cadavers according to Falk were the cost, the difficulty of them to come by, and the equal difficulty of them to maintain. If un-embalmed, cadavers deteriorate after just a few days, and can lead to medical students suffering adverse physical effects such as nausea, dizziness and fatigue said Falk.
Erler Zimmer made the shift towards 3D printing in 2021. Monash University in Australia approached the company for models of digital scans that they had collected of real cadavers. Falk said that the company realised traditional model making technologies wouldn’t work as the detail required from the scans was ‘too great’, so began to explore 3D printing.
After initally trialling a brand of 3D printer that didn’t work for the company, the team discovered Mimaki, and invested in a 3DUJ-553, an industrial scale system from the 3DUJ Series. The company intends to purchase two more 553’s according to Falk.
Read more: Mimaki 3D printer can print more than 10 million colours
“We found that Mimaki offered us the ultimate solution. With the 3DUJ-553’s over 10 million colour capabilities, we were able to print in fine colour details which is very important in medical education,” said Falk. “Improving models through colour gave an even better result for teaching than using a real cadaver, and solved the problem many countries face regarding ethical or religious issues with using cadavers, who were very much limited to using charts and simple anatomical models. Now they can have plastic replicas of real human bodies, which has brought teaching much further than it was before.”
Falk also spoke about the benefits of using full colour within anatomical models: “The first step was reproduction of a healthy body. We now have a new series of pathologies which are opening new opportunities. There are many diseases most doctors would have never seen because it’s so rare to find a cadaver with that specific disease. We now have a collection of diseased reproductions that students can interact with, which is a massive step forward for medical teaching all over the world.”
Erler Zimmer
Andreas Falk, General Manager of Erler-Zimmer GmbH
In the study, it is also said that reproducibility was a key factor of utilising 3D printing for anatomical models, saying each student in a class can have an identical model in front of them instead of everyone crowding round one table.
The 3DUJ-533 from Mimaki is capable of printing in both hard and soft resins that are dissectible and injectable, as well as being transparent to show internal structures.
Falk said that the Mimaki printer that is currently installed at Erler Zimmer is running constantly, and the only time it is not printing is when it is being cleaned.
According to Erler Zimmer, new capabilities in terms of colour in 3D printing have seen a shift in the markets and a growing importance of what the technology can be used for, in medical, gaming or art industries. Using additive manufacturing for anatomical model-making in the way it is now was previously ‘unimaginable’ according to the company.
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