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3-D Printed Skull Successfully Implanted In Woman
First time accepted submitter djhaskin987 (2147470) writes "The first successful implantation of a 3-D printed skull has taken place in the Netherlands, according to NBC news: 'Doctors in the Netherlands report that they have for the first time successfully replaced most of a human's skull with a 3-D printed plastic one — and likely saved a woman's life in the process. The 23-hour surgery took place three months ago at University Medical Center Utrecht. The hospital announced details of the groundbreaking operation this week and said the patient, a 22-year-old woman, is doing just fine."
Can I get a bulletproof one?
with eSATA, USB 3.0, FireWire 800, HDMI, DVI, RJ45, RJ11 and Thunderbolt ports ? With a 40-year upgrade plan for future interface types ?
Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
How cool is that!!! If that was me, I would make sure they didn't put the skin back on, and added a few blue flashing LED's for additional affect.
Do they make them in adamantium yet ?
Maybe we deserve this world ?
The present is looking more and more like Ghost in the Shell. I love it.
Buy your next Linux PC at eightvirtues.com
Replacing much smaller and less complicated parts.
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It's not as amazing as it sounds at first. As far as I can tell they didn't try to replace any of the facial skull area. Now THAT would be a feat and a half, considering just how many muscles and nerves are dependent on being on the "right" spot on the skull and being correctly attached, let alone all of our senses. This implant was only for the "brain" part of the skull, i.e. the upper/back half of it. Very important, after all that's what protects our brain, but far less complicated to handle from a medical point of view.
It's actually less stunning from a medical point of view than from a purely technological one. Operations where the skull cover is removed to ease the pressure on the brain are not so uncommon. What's new now is "merely" that the replacement implant fits far better to the patient, instead of a "one size fits all" that gets shaped and fitted on the OP table, with varying and often limited success, the patient now gets a 100% fitting part.
That IS a big advancement in medicine. But more for the technical side of medicine, less so for the actual surgical point of view.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
It's why helmets for cyclists and motorbike riders are not just made of a hard steel shell. Shock waves from fast impacts can pass through a hard material and transmit through something softer, and if they are carrying a lot of energy they can really mess up the softer material.
Titanium very often contains nickel to harden hit, about 4% of people can get pretty severe allergic reactions over an extended period of time.
the advantage of composites, is that they're easier and safer to replace with less harm to the soft tissue surrounding it.
And what can be less complicated than a bowl??????
A plate.
Required reading for internet skeptics
"Better to Remain Silent and Be Thought a Fool than to Speak and Remove All Doubt"
Or in this case: if he doesn't know anything about it, why immediately assume the plastics would be dangerous (and that expert doctors pioneering such a procedure wouldn't think of it)...
He wouldn't have gotten the angry comment if he had simply asked if the plastic can't give health issues, instead of making a sensationalist comment about it without knowing anything about the subject...
Sensationalist or sarcastic? I think you flew off the handle a little too quick there. His comment was harmless, re-read it.
The article must be a mistake. The Netherlands has socializes medicine. This sort of innovation only happens in capitalistic healthcare systems.
A .357 shouldn't penetrate a IIIA vest but the blunt force isn't exactly trivial to handle.