Transforming Lives with 3-D Printing

摘要

Pediatric tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) is a life-threatening condition that affects young children, in which their windpipe periodically collapses, preventing normal breathing. The condition usually resolves itself as the child grows and the windpipe becomes thicker and stronger, but until then the child faces a serious risk of dying, especially in severe cases. Although there are treatments based on strengthening the windpipe with devices such as stents, they are prone to failure. Now, however, 3-D printing may offer a lifeline. In a paper last year in Science Translational Medicine, a team of U.S. researchers led by Glenn Green at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor reported using 3-D printing to produce a plastic splint for keeping the windpipe intact. When tested in three children with pediatric TBM aged between three and 16 months, the splints successfully prevented their windpipes from collapsing without any complications. Several years on and the children remain perfectly healthy.