Use of 3D printing increasing in radiology

Editor's Note

Though the use of 3D printing is not new in radiology, its adoption has increased as the technology has matured, the November 9 Health Data Management reports.

The value of the printer is the ability to create a model of a body part before a surgical procedure−to hold that body part, look at it, and talk about it before moving to the real thing.

The technology also can be used to make something for a specific body part, such as a stent for the aorta.

The use of 3D printing technology in radiology is not new; Jonathan Morris, an assistant professor of radiology at Mayo Clinic and an interventional spine neuroradiologist has been using it since 2001. But it's only in recent years that adoption really ramped up as the technology has matured, he adds.