The Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer) has acquired a 3D printer for its Department of Plastic Surgery.
Jipmer Director S.C. Parija formally dedicated the machine at a function at the department by handing over the first five 3D printed implants to select patients.
According to Jipmer, patients are currently dependent on either private 3D printing services for personalised implant fabrication (which costs them anywhere between ₹5,000 and ₹10,000) or manual designing of implants, which have been found to be a poor fit.
Jipmer acquired the 3D printer for extending the option of personalised implants to patients in a cost-effective manner. The patients had been dependent on external expertise for the fabrication of the digital 3D models and further processing to make it compatible with the 3D printer.
The 3D printer obviates the need for plastic surgeons to depend on private units for fabricating predominantly dental implants, said Dr. Dinesh Kumar, Head of Plastic Surgery. There was also potential for minor mismatch in the implants.
The in-house facility for 3D printing will allow for higher precision in fabricating implants made of Poly methyl methacrylate from scan output, he said.
The machine will be managed by staff with expertise in 3D modelling, Dr. Kumar added.
