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How GE_And_J&J Are Making 3D-Printed Body Parts A Reality

At ge.com/reports - Joint Venture: How GE And Johnson & Johnson Are Making 3D-Printed Body Parts A Reality - Oct 3, 2017

One of the benefits of additive manufacturing technologies is that they can print customized solutions for patients — say, knees — directly from a computer file, layer by layer. When people have their knees or hips replaced today, Onukuri says, doctors typically have an option of five or six implants of different sizes, and a set of instruments that go with them. “Physicians make every effort to find the implant that fits best,” he says. “But it’s never a perfect match, and the same is true for the tools. As a result, the surgery takes longer — and so can healing and recovery — and the fit may not be perfect.”

3D-printed instruments or implants based on patient scans can achieve an exact fit for the joint. In addition, the specific surgical tools needed for the surgery, which tend to be complex, can be 3D-printed too. “With additive technology we can really transform the whole area,” Onukuri says. “Through our collaborative efforts with companies like GE, we will definitely get there.”
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But Onukuri and his counterparts at the GE Healthcare lab are not just changing the manufacturing process. They are also changing minds. “Design for additive manufacturing is different than design for traditional manufacturing,” says J&J’s Sendra. “It gives you the ability to consider many more solutions than you had before. But every engineer can’t think that way, and we have to teach them that there’s a difference. They need to look at the problem from a new point of view.”

Sendra says that 3D printing, though three decades old, is only now beginning to show its full potential. “What’s different now is the convergence of the additive technology and computing power with the science that unlocks capabilities,” he says. “It allows you to envision a reality and a solution that was previously unimaginable.”


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For reference:

At jnj.com - The Power of 3D Printing: How This Technology Is Blazing New Medical Frontiers - March 27, 2017

He goes by the name Mr. 3D Printing—and there's a good reason for it. Sam Onukuri, head of Johnson & Johnson’s 3D Printing Center of Excellence, shares why his work is so exciting and potentially life-changing for surgeons and patients alike.
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It’s my responsibility to …

3D printing is a collection of a broad family of technologies that use everything from metals to polymers to biomaterials—materials that mimic living tissue—in order to create objects. Metal parts, for example, are made with laser-based or electron beam-based 3D printers that use metal powders for raw material; the laser or electron beam fuses together the powder. Polymer parts are made using ultraviolet, infrared or visible light in conjunction with laser or heat energy.

So my job is to use these technologies to deliver 3D printing solutions to different operating companies within Johnson & Johnson. The technology can have transformative applications across all businesses, like surgical tools for surgeons, medical implants for patients and even medicine tablets for consumers someday.

3D printing of surgical instruments is innovative because …

If you look at, say, the orthopedic business, there is a big inventory of products. For example, a surgeon treating a person going into trauma surgery might need multiple cases of instruments, which creates a lot of inefficiencies. What we are trying to do with 3D printing is customize these instruments specifically for each patient, so you don’t have to take so many different sizes into surgery.