Medical 3D Printing: Applications, News, and Products
Author: Disabled World (DW)
Updated/Revised Date: 2 Nov 2026
Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Definition - About This Section - FAQs - Publications - Subtopics
Synopsis
Explore medical 3D printing and bioprinting, including custom implants, prosthetics, tissue engineering, printed organs, key market players, and the latest news.
At a Glance
- 1 - 3D printing builds objects by laying down successive layers of material under computer control.
- 2 - In March 2014, surgeons in Swansea used 3D-printed parts to rebuild the face of a motorcyclist seriously injured in a road accident.
- 3 - Bioprinting has seen preliminary success generating several kinds of tissue, including skin, bone, cartilage, trachea, and heart tissue.
- 4 - More than 100,000 people in the United States are waiting for organ transplants, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.
Topic Definition
- Medical 3D Printing
Medical 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a process that builds three-dimensional objects one layer at a time under computer control, working from a digital model to create shapes of almost any geometry. In healthcare, this technology has moved quickly from novelty to practical tool, allowing clinicians to produce patient-specific implants, prosthetics and artificial limbs, custom hearing aids, dental devices, and surgical models tailored to a single person's anatomy. A closely related branch called bioprinting goes a step further by printing with living cells, including stem cells, muscle cells, and vascular cells, to build tissue such as skin, cartilage, and bone. Although printing whole human organs for transplant remains years away, researchers are steadily advancing the field, drawn by its potential to lower costs, improve patient care, and eventually help meet the demand for donor organs.
Overview
The adoption of 3-D printing is happening fastest in the medical industry. The precise process of 3D printers now gives researchers the ability to reproduce vascular systems required to make organs viable. Researchers are already using the printers to print tiny strips of organ tissue. And while printing whole human organs for surgical transplants is still years away, the technology is rapidly developing.
3D printing (Additive Manufacturing (AM)) is defined as any of various processes used to make a three-dimensional object. In 3D printing, additive processes are used, in which successive layers of material are laid down under computer control. These objects can be of almost any shape or geometry, and are produced from a 3D model or other electronic data source. The medical applications of 3D bioprinting are numerous, and are currently the subject of intensive research. 3D printing has already been used to print patient specific implant and devices for medical use. For example, clinicians have used 3D printing to help treat a woman with a degenerative condition of the spinal column.
In the future, 3-D printers could someday produce much-needed human organs for transplants.
Presently, more than 100,000 people in the United States are waiting for organ transplants, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. In the 2010s, bioengineering researcher Dr. Stuart Williams of the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute predicted that a 3D printer would be able to print an entire heart from a person's own cells within a decade; that goal has not yet been reached.
At Wake Forest, teams built custom bioprinters faster than modified ink-jets and can print with many more cell types, including stem cells, muscle cells, and vascular cells. They also designed a printer to create both the synthetic scaffold and tissue in one session; they're now using it to produce intricate ears, noses, and bones. Other uses of 3D printing in the medical field include the printing of Prosthetics and Artificial Limbs for amputees and people with disabilities, custom hearing aids, uses in the dental field, and printing new skin as grafts for burn and injury patients, as well as custom and new medical devices.
3D printing is reshaping parts of health care. Clinicians and manufacturers use it to make devices matched to a single patient's anatomy, and many hope it will lower costs and improve care. Medical devices produced by 3D printing include orthopedic and cranial implants, surgical instruments, dental restorations such as crowns, and external prosthetics [U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2023]. Pharmaceutical companies are also interested in the technology, because it could make it cheaper to develop and test new drugs.
In the United States, 3D printed medical devices are regulated by the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, while products that include biological materials or drugs are also overseen by the agency's biologics and drug centers. The FDA has published technical guidance for manufacturers of additive manufactured medical devices.
Bioprinting, which prints with living cells, is a major application of 3D printing in the tissue engineering field of regenerative medicine. Future medical uses will depend on new materials that are safe for diagnosis and treatment and that meet regulatory requirements, and the technology raises ethical questions, especially about printing human tissues and organs.
Medical 3D Printing Facts and Accomplishments
- 3D printing techniques can be used to build objects at the nanoscale.
- 3D printing has been used to make patient-specific implants and devices for medical use.
- Dental restorations such as crowns are among the medical devices made with 3D printing.
- The Lawrence Bonassar Laboratory at Cornell University has worked on 3D bioprinting cartilage shapes.
- In March 2014, surgeons in Swansea used 3D-printed parts to rebuild the face of a motorcyclist who had been seriously injured in a road accident.
- Researchers in the Jonathan Butcher Laboratory in the Cornell University College of Engineering have developed methods to bioprint living aortic heart valves.
- 3D bioprinting has had early success in producing several kinds of tissue, including skin, bone, cartilage, trachea, and heart tissue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is another name for 3D printing?
3D printing is also known as additive manufacturing, a process that makes a three-dimensional object by laying down successive layers of material under computer control.
What is the difference between 3D printing and bioprinting?
Standard 3D printing produces objects like implants and prosthetics, while bioprinting prints with living cells such as stem, muscle, and vascular cells to build tissue.
Can 3D printers make whole human organs yet?
Not yet, as printing whole human organs for surgical transplants is still years away, though researchers are already printing tiny strips of organ tissue.
What medical devices can be made with 3D printing?
3D printing can produce patient-specific implants, prosthetics and artificial limbs, custom hearing aids, dental devices, skin grafts, and new medical devices.
Why are healthcare professionals interested in 3D printing?
Healthcare professionals are drawn to 3D printing because it can lower costs and improve the quality of patient care across implants, surgeries, and prosthetics.
Which types of tissue has bioprinting already produced?
Bioprinting has seen preliminary success generating several kinds of tissue, including skin, bone, cartilage, trachea, and heart tissue.
Which industries are expected to grow most from medical 3D printing?
The hearing aid and dental industries are expected to be the biggest areas of future development using custom 3D printing technology.
Are 3D printed medical devices regulated?
Yes, in the United States the Food and Drug Administration reviews 3D printed medical devices through the same pathways used for other devices. The agency published technical guidance on additive manufactured medical devices in 2017.
References
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2023). 3D printing of medical devices.
Curated and edited by Ian C. Langtree, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Disabled World. This section is maintained by the Disabled World editorial team. Last updated: