TAIPEI, Taiwan — “Making a 3D printed model of a lung and then practice operating on it, watching it squish and bleed very much like a human organ.“, does it sounds fictional? it's absolutely a reality with Biotexture Wet Models from Fasotec, a Japanes 3D printing solutions company.
According to an earlier report, in Tokyo, experienced surgeons as well as their students are busy practicing on lungs that are so realistic they squish and ooze just like a real organ, and come complete with blood vessels. For their purposes in practicing for real-life experience, the super-realistic lungs also come complete with tumors that need to be removed, delicately. Not to worry if there is a mistake though, because another can be 3D printed in just a few minutes.
Therefore, the ‘see one, do one, teach one' practice has now been given a futuristic, technological twist for medical students in Japan at Jikei University Hospital in Tokyo as they are able to practice at a separate spot in the operating room, watching the surgery on a monitor, and practicing along on their own 3D printed model that is so lifelike it even bleeds. Afterward, surgeons and students are able to compare what they removed from the lungs.
However, Fasotec is based in Chiba, just southeast of Tokyo, and also engineers 3D printed hearts, brains, and livers, and it's no surprise that they have plans for expansion throughout Asia and overseas. One day it surely will be applied to medical students in Taiwan if Taiwanese 3D printing solutions providers haven't invented such a technology like Fasotec does.
Last but not the least, expectant parents can get a sneak preview of their kid via a partnership between Fasotec and Parkside Hiroo Ladies Clinic. The company is also offering a 3D printed replica of an in-utero child, bsaed on an MRI scan. The foetus will be printed in white resin, encased in clear resin to represent the mother's womb.
