The intelligent 3D medical high-speed printing system. (PHOTO: PITECH)

By TANG Zhexiao

An orthopaedic device that can be used to stabilize long bone fractures after emergency trauma, produced by an intelligent 3D medical high-speed printing (3D-HSP) system, was recently launched by the West China Pitech.

The external fixation brace printed by this 3D-HSP could be used for emergency trauma and postoperative external fixation covering the bones and joints of the limbs, such as wrist and knee joints, as well as the spine.

The system has achieved a number of core technological breakthroughs, with its efficiency being 20 times higher than that of traditional 3D printing technology, according to the inventor.

Combined with a control system driven by AI to direct the printing trajectory, this 3D-HSP can replace traditional plaster fixation to provide a printed external fixation. After real-time scanning of an injured body, the 3D-HSP can accurately print a fixed brace in about 30 minutes, whereas it originally took five to seven hours to print a similar brace.

The system has been put into clinical application in China and is continuing to be upgraded, in order to be able to print more complex curved surfaces such as shoulder joints, helping doctors treat patients' affected areas quickly and efficiently.