3D Printing

3D Printing: How This Innovative Technology Is Changing Lives

Since its inception back in the early eighties, 3D printing has continued to enhance our lives and change the world around us. Many of us may have already heard about the college student, Jeff Powell from the University of North Carolina, who created a prosthetic hand for a young boy who was born without fingers on his left hand.

When CBS News first reported on this milestone back in November of 2014, almost a dozen children were waiting in the wings for their new hands and we’ve continued to provide updates on this revolutionary technology. Our most recent article highlighted the first “bionic hand” created with a 3D printer that provides sensory feedback and creates different types of grasps that provide users with a sense of touch and pressure.

Continued Innovation

Think about it, in just a few short years, the concept and eventual production of a prosthetic hand went from something that resembled a toy, to a device that recognizes human forms of touch and pressure. Not to discount the incredible and inexpensive hand that was created by Mr. Powell, it just goes to show you how far and fast the world of 3D printing has evolved and continues to advance and change for the better.

In the medical field alone, an estimated 50,000 people worldwide will benefit from 3D printing technologies will affect patients in someway, everything from dental implants to pharmaceuticals and more. Many scientists are working towards creating and perfecting more life-saving objects such as heart valves, blood vessels, replacement organs and skin tissue for burn victims and others suffering from dermis related diseases.

Check out the infographic below, “How 3D Printing Will Change Your Life,” that expands on how 3D printing will change:

  • Consumer Spending
  • Culinary Concepts
  • Education
  • Housing
  • The Environment
  • Transportation and more!

 

3DPrintingChangeYourLife

Infographic source: Brilliance.com

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