3D printing in medical application: an educational design perspective

Medical applications for 3D printin g are expanding rapidly and are expected to revolutionize health care. The application of 3D printing in medicine and healthcare can provide many bene fits, including the customization and personalization of medical products, drugs, and equipment; cost - effectiveness; increased productivity; the democratization of design and manufacturing; and enhanced collaboration. Normally, one have to either draw an o bject in a CAD program , dow n load or optimize a digital model that is generated by Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound imaging (US) , 3D scanning , or computer tomography (CT) to a 3D printing process. Although such a technology could be regarded as an engineering tool, a broader aspect of the technology and its effects on motivation for the students in particular for medical applicat ion has not been reviewed previously . One would question the level of integrating such a device into engineering stude nt curriculum, and how would that gain the level of students’ knowledge to make faster prototypes and examine ideas in a faster pace. In this paper, we are in particular elaborating different cases for applications using such a technology, and discuss the barriers and controversies of 3D printing and its related processes in light of two medical applications in addition to its educational effects. We present a workflow that can be considered for processing any medical applications with 3D printing. Furthe rmore, we elaborate the experiences with our students on how they achieved their goal through a rather creative process by using 3D printers for making medical device prototype