3D Printing

Iran Works to Develop its Own Medical 3D Printing Technology

It is said that 3D printing is having a huge impact in the medical field.  By converting a patient’s CT scans into 3D models, it’s possible for doctors to create patient-specific implants that more accurately fit a patient’s needs than something that may be mass manufactured.  And, thanks to the technology’s unique ability to create complex, partially hollow parts, 3D printed implants may be more lightweight than their traditionally manufactured counterparts.  Additionally, patient-specific models can be created to prepare doctors for complex surgeries.  For all of these reasons, and many more, we’ve been inundated with headlines about the use of 3D printing in this or that surgery from around the world.  There are some countries, however, that haven’t been so lucky to have access to such technology.

According to the Chairman of the 3D printing division at Iran’s Pardis Technology Park, Mohammad Javad Karimi, US sanctions have prevented some of the revolutionary technology from being shipped passed Iran’s borders. Karimi says that the country has been barred from receiving 3D metal printers specifically and that 3D modelling software is also hard to come by.  The tech park has been able to get its hands on a few different machines, but, to overcome the restrictions from the embargo, their researchers are working to develop their own 3D printer for making medical prototypes by the end of the year.  And, in addition to Karimi’s research, the Iranian Nokhbeh Mehvar Fars Company has announced that they will be producing raw materials for the 3D printing of medical prosthesis, at 1/6 the price it would cost to import it into the country.

Karimi (or, more specifically, his translator) also says in the video that the US does not sell 3D printers to countries in the Middle East. Either Karimi is intentionally excluding countries with which the US is friendly, like the United Arab Emirates and Israel, or there was an error in translation.  Regardless, access to 3D printing technology in the country could mean that the country could 3D print some items that may be otherwise unable to enter Iran.  Despite limited access to international scholarship, for instance, 3D printing could bring medical models, such as those being curated by the National Institute of Health in the US, to Iranian doctors.

Even with the ability to 3D print goods that could not make it into the country otherwise, the country would still face the crippling economic effects of US sanctions in other ways.  The inability to use online payment systems, for example, prohibits Iran from participating in the global marketplace the same way that freer countries might.  Nevertheless, the potential for 3D printing on a country facing such a strict embargo could be quite powerful.