Learn About 3D Printing Body Parts: A Free Online Course

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The world of medicine and biomaterials has collided with advances in 3D printing. In a recent case, an infant was born with a rare and life-threatening birth defect and was unable to breathe unaided. A CT scan of the boy’s airways was used to 3D print a bio-sleeve, which was a perfect fit for his bronchus. The material used dissolves in the body, giving the boy’s bronchus time to grow strong, before disappearing, without the need for surgery.

Discover how biomaterials and 3D printing collide, to create revolutionary, bioprinted body parts, with the free online course “Bioprinting: 3D Printing Body Parts“. Discover what 3D bioprinting can do now and in the future.

Requirements

This course is designed for a general audience. No previous knowledge of 3D printing or biomedicine is required.

Bioprinting: 3D Printing Body Parts Course Content

The course uses case studies – ranging from hip implants to facial transplants to lab-grown organs, and includes the following topics:

The story of the bioprinting revolution;
Commonly used biomaterials, including metals, ceramics, and polymers;
How bioprinting techniques, such as selective laser melting, hot-melt extrusion, and inkjet printing, work.
What is 3D printing and how did it come about?
Is it really possible to print structures that incorporate both living and artificial components?
How long before we can print whole body organs for transplants?
What is possible right now, and what will be possible in 20 and 50 years’ time?
And what are the limitations of this technology?

You’ll be given guided opportunities to not only investigate the 3D printing facilities available to you but to also design, potentially print and share your creations with your fellow learners.

You can find out more in Gordon Wallace’s post for the FutureLearn blog: “How is 3D printing revolutionizing healthcare?”