Ontology Building for Medical 3D Printing: The Team @ Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence (LPBI)

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Ontology Building for Medical 3D Printing: The Team @ Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence (LPBI)

August 17, 2015 by 2012pharmaceutical

Ontology Building for Medical 3D Printing: The Team @ Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence (LPBI)

Curator: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

What Is 3D Printing

3D printing, or additive manufacturing, involves the creation of a three-dimensional solid object from a digital model. This object can be almost any shape & size. An additive process is necessary during 3D printing, whereby different shapes are achieved by the laying down of successive layers of material. 3D printing is not recognised as one of the traditional machining techniques, as, in most instances, cutting or drilling will be used to remove material.

A materials printer will normally perform 3D printing processes via digital technology. 3D printing technology is used in many different ways. It’s used for prototyping and in distributed manufacturing with applications in a variety of industries, such as architecture, aerospace, construction (AEC), automotive, civil and general engineering, industrial design, dental and medical, fashion, education, food, and bio tech (human tissue replacement). 3D printing technology is now used in the design of some footwear, jewellery and eyewear and by the military and geographic information systems. It’s been predicted that 3D printing may have mass market appeal, because of how capital costs can be easily offset by open source 3D printing. Consequently, customers will be able to avoid the usual costs when buying common household items.

In 1984 3D System Corporation’s Chuck Hall created the very first working 3D printer. The first decade or so of the 21st Century has seen a substantial increase in the sales of these machines, which has also coincided with a sharp decrease in their prices.

Though there are differing types of 3D printing technologies the core of the technology is the same: layer by successive layer is used to build a complete three-dimensional object.

All the individual layers are thin slices that are taken from the horizontal cross-section of what will be the eventual object. 3D printing has similarities, if being more precise, with 3D baking when, for instance, a multi-layered cake has been created by a baker building a cake layer by layer.

Everything starts with a digital file.

The process starts with a digital Computer Aided Design (CAD) file, which is used for every 3D-printed object. A 3D modelling program is used to create the CAD file, though an alternative method is for a file to be scanned into a 3D modelling program via a 3D scanner. The software will slice the design into hundreds or thousands of horizontal layers, which will simplify the 3D printer’s interpretation of the digital file.

Once the 3D printer has read the file it will create each layer exactly. The layers are blended together as they are created, but the layering itself won’t be visible and a three-dimensional object will be the result.

Going to the 3D Printer

The 3D printer may be a Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) printer, which is not unlike a 2D inkjet printer. The FDM printer, though, has an extra axis enabling each layer to be formed when a thin stream of melted material is deposited by the axis through a nozzle. The printer may also be a selective laser sintering (SLS) printer, whereby a scanning laser beam builds up an object in a bed of powdered material. This involves bits of the powder being fused together by the laser, layer by layer. Several other types of technologies could also be used.

Another name for 3D printing is ‘additive manufacturing’, because of how an additive process is used in the printing process. This is different to the ‘subtractive process’, which is similar to when a sculptor chips away at (subtracts from) an original block of stone to create a sculpture. This is mirrored in a manufacturing context by material being drilled, milled, cut or machined off. In additive manufacturing nothing will be removed by the 3D printer. Whenever necessary each part of the object is created in successive layers, and this is an additive process.

The Future Of 3D Printing

Digital dematerialization dominates the modern world in the shape of books, music, videos, news and our communities. 3D printing is a reminder that humans need to have at least one foot based in reality, both physically and psychologically. The future of 3D printing is bright, particularly in rapid prototyping, where the impact has already been very significant. 3D printing will become increasingly used in manufacturing, especially regarding a wide range of plastic and metal objects, medicine, the arts, and in space technology. Home desktop 3D printers are already here and in the near future will be even more affordable. Also already existing are 3D printers with a capability of outputting in colour and many materials. These printers will eventually make it possible to output functional products. Offering a strong bridge between the physical world and cyberspace is an important aspect of the Second Digital Revolution, and consequently 3D printing will have a noticeable impact on all our lives.

This ground-breaking technology’s impact on 21st Century civilization will be huge, and energy use, waste, availability of products, customization, art, medicine, the sciences, construction and, of course, manufacturing will all feel the effects. How we see the world will be forever changed – and before we realise it.

COMMON TYPES OF 3D PRINTERS

All 3D printing processes offer advantages and disadvantages.³ The type of 3D printer chosen for an application often depends on the materials to be used and how the layers in the finished product are bonded.¹¹ The three most commonly used 3D printer technologies in medical applications are: selective laser sintering (SLS), thermal inkjet (TIJ) printing, and fused deposition modeling (FDM).^10,11 A brief discussion of each of these technologies follows.

Selective Laser Sintering

An SLS printer uses powdered material as the substrate for printing new objects.¹¹ A laser draws the shape of the object in the powder, fusing it together.¹¹ Then a new layer of powder is laid down and the process repeats, building each layer, one by one, to form the object.¹¹ Laser sintering can be used to create metal, plastic, and ceramic objects.¹¹ The degree of detail is limited only by the precision of the laser and the fineness of the powder, so it is possible to create especially detailed and delicate structures with this type of printer.¹¹

Thermal Inkjet Printing

Inkjet printing is a “noncontact” technique that uses thermal, electromagnetic, or piezoelectric technology to deposit tiny droplets of “ink” (actual ink or other materials) onto a substrate according to digital instructions.¹⁰ In inkjet printing, droplet deposition is usually done by using heat or mechanical compression to eject the ink drops.¹⁰ In TIJ printers, heating the printhead creates small air bubbles that collapse, creating pressure pulses that eject ink drops from nozzles in volumes as small as 10 to 150 picoliters.¹⁰ Droplet size can be varied by adjusting the applied temperature gradient, pulse frequency, and ink viscosity.¹⁰

TIJ printers are particularly promising for use in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.^10,13Because of their digital precision, control, versatility, and benign effect on mammalian cells, this technology is already being applied to print simple 2D and 3D tissues and organs (also known as bioprinting).¹⁰ TIJ printers may also prove ideal for other sophisticated uses, such as drug delivery and gene transfection during tissue construction.¹⁰

Fused Deposition Modeling

FDM printers are much more common and inexpensive than the SLS type.¹¹ An FDM printer uses a printhead similar to an inkjet printer.¹¹ However, instead of ink, beads of heated plastic are released from the printhead as it moves, building the object in thin layers.^4,11 This process is repeated over and over, allowing precise control of the amount and location of each deposit to shape each layer.⁴ Since the material is heated as it is extruded, it fuses or bonds to the layers below.⁴ As each layer of plastic cools, it hardens, gradually creating the solid object as the layers build.¹¹ Depending on the complexity and cost of an FDM printer, it may have enhanced features such as multiple printheads.¹¹ FDM printers can use a variety of plastics.¹¹ In fact, 3D FDM printed parts are often made from the same thermoplastics that are used in traditional injection molding or machining, so they have similar stability, durability, and mechanical properties.⁴

SOURCE

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4189697/

The Universe of 3D Printing has the following common Knowledge Classification

3D Bioprinting
3D Content
3D Dental Printing
3D Design & Engineering
3D Food Printing, Nano Food, Food Technology
3D Medicine Printing
3D Medtech Printing
3D Printing – General
3D Printing Electronics
3D Printing Materials
4D Printing – Meta Materials – Programmable Matter
Converging Media International
Experience Design
Footwear & Fashion Technology
Health Tech
High Tech Marketing
IoT – Internet of Things
ISN – Intelligent Sensor Networks
Photonics Integration
Sport Innovation
UAS – Unmanned Aircraft Systems
UCA – Unmanned Cargo Aircraft
Urban Farming

SOURCE

http://www.3dbioprintingconference.com/stay-up-to-date/

3D Printing Association

USA Office

+1 (408) 600-2647
Silicon Valley Cente, 2570 N. First Street
San Jose, CA 95131
United States

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION by 3D Printing Association

https://www.the3dprintingassociation.com/member-pres/assets/player/KeynoteDHTMLPlayer.html#0

Ontology Building for Medical 3D Printing:

The Team @ Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence (LPBI)

LPBI’s focus on MEDICAL 3D Printing

Name	Description
Select 3D Printing for Medical Application	3D Printing for Medical Application	17
Select 3D Plotting Scaffolds	— 3D Plotting Scaffolds	0
Select BioInks	— BioInks	0
Select Biopolymer Blend Open Porous	— — Biopolymer Blend Open Porous	0
Select BioPrinting in Regenerative Medicine	— BioPrinting in Regenerative Medicine	0
Select Cell Level	— — Cell Level	0
Select MicroeEngineering Cell-Tissue & SYstems	— — MicroEngineering Cell-Tissue & Systems	0
Select Specialized 3D BioPrinters (Cornea, Meniscus)	— — Specialized 3D BioPrinters (Cornea, Meniscus)	0
Select Tissue Engineering	— — Tissue Engineering	0
Select Cardiovascular and Vascular Systems	— Cardiovascular and Vascular Systems	0
Select Artery-on-a-Chip	— — Artery-on-a-Chip	0
Select Artificial Vascular Structures	— — Artificial Vascular Structures	0
Select Cardiovascular Tissue	— — Cardiovascular Tissue	0
Select Vascularized tissue flaps	— — — Vascularized tissue flaps	0
Select Tri-leaflet Heart Valve	— — Tri-leaflet Heart Valve	0
Select Drug Development using MultiOrgan Chip	— Drug Development using MultiOrgan Chip	0
Select MEMS	— MEMS	0
Select Organ-on-a-Chip	— Organ-on-a-Chip	0
Select Programmable Sensors (Carbon Nano Tubes)	— Programmable Sensors (Carbon Nano Tubes)	0
Select Academic Publishing