3-D Printed Device Helps Children with Rare Breathing Disorder
You may have heard about a process called 3-D printing. It is where a machine creates a three-dimensional object – one with height, width and depth.
Now researchers in the United States have developed what they call a 4-D medical device. They say the device is designed for very young patients, and changes as their bodies grow.
The researchers are with the University of Michigan in Anna Arbor. They worked with children who have a rare condition called tracheobronchomalacia, or TBM. The disease weakens the walls of the airway. The breathing passage can collapse, cutting off oxygen to the children.
One of the researchers is Glenn Green. He told reporters that TBM is a rare, but very serious breathing disorder.
Patients with TBM have been treated with a splint, a support that surrounds the airway and protects it. The splint worked just like those often used to support a broken arm.
The new 3-D printed splint is designed to expand over time. Each one is specially designed and made for each patient.
Over time, the airway becomes strong enough to resist collapsing. Several years after the operation, the 3-D splint is slowly removed through natural processes.
