“3D-Printing for Life Sciences” Symposium – Basel Area Swiss Innovation Event, July 4, 2017

At the “3D Printing for Life Sciences” symposium, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland and the University Hospital Basel, in collaboration with BaselArea.swiss, addressed the current state of 3D printing in medical science. Around 200 participating guests from industry and research attended the top-class program. As a 3D printer distributor and support service provider, we attended the event in Muttenz and presented our 3D printers and various three-dimensional sample models.

Originally starting with simple 3D printed surgical bone models, the technology in the field of additive manufacturing has continued to develop so that metal or ceramic implants can now be 3D printed. Although 3D printing has been used in medical science for almost 30 years, its potential is still far from being fully exploited. The change in technology is enabling more and more areas of medical use and applications. However, this rapid progress also presents us with challenges. What will come next? Will body parts such as joints soon be produced using 3D printers and will end users or patients soon be able to print out their own prostheses? What legal problems does this entail? These and other interesting questions were addressed by the participants at the event in Muttenz on July 4.

The presentations and discussions at the “3D Printing for Life Sciences” symposium covered topics such as bioprinting, toxicology and implants. Based on its current research, the FHNW School of Life Sciences dedicated itself to the highlight topic of “Bioprinting”. The latest technology involves 3D printing living cells into tissue-like structures. The tissue produced is intended to be used for drug research in the future. It may soon be possible to test drugs on 3D-printed tissue structures and thus reduce animal testing.

The event was extremely interesting for us and gave us important insights into the medical application area. We ourselves are looking forward to seeing how the additive manufacturing process develops and will be happy to inform you about the latest trends, innovations and technologies.

Here you can see some impressions of the event with impressive exhibits from our customers in the medical sector:

The 3D Print Lab at the University Hospital Basel

The 3D Print Lab – the 3D printing laboratory at the University Hospital Basel – produces realistic anatomical models from patient image data. The team, consisting of surgeons and radiologists, specializes in additive manufacturing processes in the medical field. The institution within the university hospital serves as an active research platform and is also available as a service provider and project partner. 3D Print Lab creates three-dimensional image data for a wide range of surgical disciplines. The 3D objects are used in particular for surgical planning. However, they are also used for patient information. The 3D model can be used to better explain and illustrate the upcoming procedure to the patient. The 3D objects are also used in teaching and training.

If you have any questions on these topics, please feel free to contact us: