Man Has 75% of Skull Replaced By 3D-Printed Materials

redletterdave writes "An un-named male patient in the U.S. has had 75 percent of his skull replaced with 3D printed materials. The undisclosed patient had his head imaged by a 3D scanner before South Windsor, Conn.-based Oxford Performance Materials (OPM) gained approval from US regulators to print the bone replacement. OPM's final skull replacement was built within two weeks, and inserted in the patient's skull in an operation performed earlier this week; this cutting-edge procedure was only just revealed on Friday. OPM's 3D-printed process was granted approval by the FDA back on Feb. 18, which means the company can now provide 3D printed replacements for bones damaged by trauma or even disease. The company says this technique could benefit more than 500 U.S. citizens each month, from injured factory or construction workers to wounded soldiers."

Re:Dude

[JWSmythe]

They forgot to mention that it was adamantite.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Backbone printing

[M3.14]

Finally a solution for people without any backbone.

Re:Backbone printing

[Grayhand]

Finally a solution for people without any backbone.

Now if they can perfect brain transplants we can finally fix Congress.

Re:

[slick7]

Finally a solution for people without any backbone.

Now if they can perfect brain transplants we can finally fix Congress.

They did, just open a can of Spam. The hard part is giving them a soul that doesn't die on contact with such corruption.

Re:

[dreamchaser]

Finally a solution for people without any backbone.

Now if they can perfect brain transplants we can finally fix Congress.

Not just Congress. There might even be hope for the majority of Redditors.

Designer skulls

[vanyel]

...taking body modification to a whole new level...

Re:Designer skulls

[K. S. Kyosuke]

Can you spell "Minbari"? ;-)

Re:

[slick7]

Can you spell "Minbari"? ;-)

Can you spell, Sith?

Re:

[SteveFoerster]

It'd be kind of ironic to be a bonehead when it isn't really bone....

Re:

[Skrapion]

Au contraire! The replacement has small surface details etched into it to promote new bone growth.

Re:

[SteveFoerster]

Those devious Minbari have thought of everything....

This worries me

[93 Escort Wagon]

If printing skulls becomes common practice, it's going to make AdBlock a lot less effective. I really don't want to be seeing some banner ad just because I sat behind the wrong person on the bus.

Re:This worries me

[Algae_94]

Let's get this straight. You don't want to see any banner ads on a bus? When was the last time you saw a public bus?

Re:

[djbckr]

Not sure whether to mark this "Funny" or "Insightful"... I guess I'll lose my mod points for this comment.

Re:

[RoknrolZombie]

Of course not, those require an advanced 3D printing technique that we won't see for at least a few more weeks.

Re:pics or it didnt happen

[godel_56]

pics or it didnt happen

You asked for it.

http://www.technewsdaily.com/images/i/000/011/153/original/osteofab-cranial-device.jpg?1362591104

TFA says they use some sort of plastic called polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) so I'm guessing structual strength won't be a major selling feature.

Re:

[the biologist]

That is the only picture which is getting passed around... but that replacement part is nowhere near 75% of the skull.

Re:

[knarf]

TFA says they use some sort of plastic called polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) so I'm guessing structual strength won't be a major selling feature.

The first hit on 'polyetherketoneketone' [rtpcompany.com] on a well-known search engine reads as follows:

Advantages:

High strength and toughness
Chemical resistance
Easy processing

Trauma

[JamJam]

Trauma injury that caused 75% of the skull to be destroyed surely must have a huge impact on the brain. Hopefully the patient isn't in a vegetative state...

a vegetative state

[Doug Otto]

Like Nebraska?

Re:a vegetative state

[Reverand Dave]

No, brain dead, more like Texas.

Re:

[Chris Mattern]

At the moment, we don't even know if it *was* trauma injury. I actually suspect it was not; disease that required replacement of the bone seems more likely, for exactly the reason you state. We don't know, because nobody seems to be reporting any details on the man's condition.

Re:Trauma

[MozeeToby]

Article does mention that they scanned the patient's skull and made an as close to possible replica of it. I don't think that'd be an option if the guy got hit by a bus.

Measure and model

[andersh]

I imagine it wouldn't take an insane amount of work to calculate the missing piece(s) of a scanned skull if they have other models to build on and software with math skills. There's a certain symmetry to all human skulls and only slight variations on the features' length and width etc. If you get hit by a bus, I imagine even a crushed skull or face would only require a lot of measurements of bone fragments and general size of the skull.

Re:

[jamesh]

Trauma injury that caused 75% of the skull to be destroyed surely must have a huge impact on the brain. Hopefully the patient isn't in a vegetative state...

I think there are other diseases that can cause bone loss, but google for "half a head" and you'll find some interesting pictures. Nowhere near 75% but still a significant amount of bone loss from trauma where the patient can still walk and talk.

Re:

[crakbone]

Think I met someone like that at the DMV.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

The article mentioned Connecticut which isn't one of the vegetative states.

Re:

[almechist]

The article mentioned Connecticut which isn't one of the vegetative states.

Clearly you don't live here.

Re:

[ByteSlicer]

Looking at the picture of the implant, it was more like 75% op his skull cap. I don't think losing 75% of your skull would be survivable.

Firearm?

[stevegee58]

Yes, but will he be required to register it as a firearm?

Re:

[K. S. Kyosuke]

Only if he has a Picatinny rail on the crest.

This is nothing new.

[sehlat]

Politicians have had 100% skull replacement for centuries.

Re:This is nothing new.

[RoknrolZombie]

Hidden in the rectum != Replacement

Actually 3D printed?

[gatfirls]

I'm curious if it is what we would consider 3d printed. Not that it isn't cool, I just know it's popular to latch onto a new buzztech word because of the press.

Re:

[wonkey_monkey]

You could always - yes, yes, I know, this is Slashdot - read the article. It's sparse on details, but it will at least tell you that

Oxford Performance Materials adapted EOS P800 printing technology to use a special polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) material that has proved suitable for human implants.

Re:

[Dasuraga]

You call it a buzzword, but being able to make things like this without requiring a mold is pretty different.

Re:

[Celarent Darii]

An enormous difference, actually. I have a friend who works with prosthetics and the construction of the mold is often a large part of the cost in making things like joint replacements for hips. In some situations the mold is very costly, and it can only be done once - if it doesn't work they have to do the whole thing over. This is a huge leap forward.

Re:

[Russ1642]

With a 3D printer you skip many steps in making something. In the past molds were made directly off of someone's limb. Now, they scan the limb into the computer and design the new part off of it. Computer design allows much more sophistication. Once the design is done you print directly from that and test the component on the individual getting treatment. If there's an issue you can make a minor fix to the design and print again. It's probably cheaper to take five stabs at printing something on a 3D printer

Re:

[DerekLyons]

Reading TFA and googling the machine mentioned, yes it's a 3D printer.

Send us your bones

[Mysteryprize]

Sounds good, as long as they don't use squirrel bones as a raw material. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9exB1XR10ck [youtube.com]

boneless chickens

[crakbone]

Now if only they could use technology for the boneless chicken industry. Those poor chickens have been suffering for a long time.

Futurama quote

[jgunchy]

"My only regret is that I have... Boneitis."

no more helmets?

[turkeydance]

just imagine an integral shock absorbing modular skull. of course, a helmet protects more than the brain, but this is good news. i needed some.

All I want to know is...

[multimediavt]

...can they print Roger Ebert a new jaw, because damn, that sucks! [wikipedia.org]

Re:

[the biologist]

Yes they can. It has already been done. http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/elderly-woman-has-lower-jaw-replaced-with-3d-printed-titanium-implant-2012026/ [geek.com]

Re:

[the biologist]

The normal shape of a skull can be worked out easily from looking at lots of other people... the scanning of the patient allow the replacement piece to fit precisely with what remains of the original skull.

Cousin Eddie?

[jtownatpunk.net]

Poor guy will never be able to ride a saucer sled down a hill again. "...if this gets dented then my hair just ain't gonna look right."

seems like it might be a better alternative

[HPHatecraft]

to bamboo.

Abstract [nih.gov]

Transparent Skull

[Anonymous Coward]

What? Tattoos? 1960s! Piercings? 1980s! These things where they burn you, or slice you? 2000s! No man, the next thing is to have your scalp removed and then you have a 3D-printed, transparent skull with LEDs mounted inside! Maybe even multi-color ones to indicate your mood!

How about a bullet-proof skull then?

[heteromonomer]

Can someone knowledgeable (i.e. not speculating) or working in the medical device industry explain why we can't use some really hard material like a titanium alloy or Kevlar to make the skull bullet-proof, especially for those in combat?

Re:

[lister king of smeg]

Or while we are at it build in some tech, Hey they are replacing the skull after all why not put in a few things that may or may not come in handy later. For example cochlear implant with blue-tooth receiver when the person get older they will not need a operation to help their hearing and could make cell calls sans the annoying earbug in the meantime. they could also through in a few eeg sensors like the ones in the emotiv epoc headset only emebed in the new skull so you could mind control computers with t

Re:

[Troll-in-Training]

Can someone knowledgeable (i.e. not speculating) or working in the medical device industry explain why we can't use some really hard material like a titanium alloy or Kevlar to make the skull bullet-proof, especially for those in combat?

Transfer of Kinetic Energy. If you just used a hard bullet proof material the kinetic energy would pass straight through and liquefy the brain.

To make a bullet proof skull you would have to use a hard outer shell, a collapsable inner filler to absorb the kinetic energy and a hard inner shell to prevent spalling from shredding the brain. With current materials science it would be ridiculously thick and heavy and cause more problems than it would solve unless you could reinforce the spine and neck muscle

Pre-deployment scan

[ed314159]

Perhaps it should be standard practice for individuals in danger of serious trauma, such as members of the military, to undergo bone scans to provide templates for future replacements.

Re:

[Celarent Darii]

Even better - how about for sports athletes and even every person of adult age goes to the doctor for a scan, and his skeleton is profiled and kept in a database for future use.

Imagine what we could do if we could 3d print organs.

What is good for humans is good for animals too

[guinea pig C]

In 2007, hunters shot an Alaskan bald eagle in the face and left her for dead, but she was then found by Jane Fink Cantwell, a bird conservationist. The bird’s entire upper beak had been shot off, the equivalent of losing a limb for birds that use their beaks for feeding and preening feathers, and clearly a death sentence for this majestic creature. Janie and her small volunteer staff at the Raptor Chapter kept the bird alive through liquid tube-feeding until mechanical engineer Nate Calvin was able c