Strat J750 Anatomy printer
3D printing service provider Schiner 3D Repro is using its Stratasys J750 Digital Anatomy platform to produce anatomical models that mimic bone and tissue.
The company is said to be serving a range of medical technology and healthcare companies to support the ‘innovation of new medical devices with biomechanically-accurate 3D printed models.’
With the use of the J750 Digital Anatomy 3D printing system, Schiner 3D Repro’s customers are overcoming the lengthy turnaround times and high costs involved when using human and animal cadavers to test and optimise new device designs. These processes can often take months, but with ‘ultra-realistic’ 3D printed models, the companies are able to accelerate their design validation and ensure more repeatability throughout the process.
Schiner 3D Repro is producing 3D printed anatomical models to support surgical training and preparation throughout Europe. These models are printed at scale with high detail and accurate representation using advanced materials that are able to closely mimic properties of the human anatomy. One example has seen Schiner 3D Repro print vascular models using Stratasys’ GelMatrix material for a customer who wanted to test blood circulation for a new product.
“In one recent case the vascular structures were only 1.5mm in diameter, which would literally be impossible to produce using other technologies,” commented Oliver Simon, Project Manager of Medical Branch at Schiner 3D Repro. “Thankfully we were able to 3D print the model for the customer, which opens up additional opportunities in design validation and optimisation of the medical device for them.”
Other materials leveraged by Schiner 3D Repro include TissueMatrix for replicating organs and BoneMatrix for simulating bone structures. The 3D printed parts, which include brain models and catheter models, are produced using advanced medical software and medical scan data, with the information being optimised for printing inside GrabCAD Print. Models are then additively manufactured with the J750 Digital Anatomy machine before being sent out to customers.
Having deployed this workflow, Schiner 3D Repro expects the medical branch of its business to grow by up to 30% throughout 2021.
“The Digital Anatomy has been a game-changer in terms of what models we can offer medical companies,” offered Joern-Henrik Stein, Managing Director at Schiner 3D Repro. “We are now able to produce anatomies from real medical scans, known as DICOM data, which allows for medical customers to request exactly what anatomy is needed without the need for human cadavers.”
“Through the ultra-realistic medical models that they are developing, companies like Schiner 3D Repro perfectly demonstrate what our Digital Anatomy Printer is capable of,” added Arnaud Toutain, Healthcare Sales and Development Lead EMEA at Stratasys. “As we continue to develop additional materials and software for the Digital Anatomy Printer, medical institutions can further reduce the need for cadavers and animals across an even wider range of applications to improve surgical preparedness and training, while helping to bring new medical devices to market faster.”
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