Paws and Prints: Revolutionizing Animal Care with 3D Printing

Life is life. There is no difference between animals or humans and finally technological advancements are being given the same opportunities in veterinary medicine

One life-changing application is 3D prosthetics. The first successful application took place in December 2014 when 3D systems announced they had outfitted Derby the dog with 3D printed prosthetics, allowing him to run down the street for the first time ever. Derby was born with a congenital deformity characterized by small forearms and no front paws. Until now, he was only able to get around on soft surfaces and hard surfaces, like sidewalks, caused severe abrasions on his front extremities. This gave him a chance at his own freedom. Then, at Penn State a prosthetic titanium beak was manufactured using 3D metal printing and implanted on Gigi, a blue macaw (a genus of the parrot family). This prosthetic saved Gigi’s life, as macaws are unable to eat solid foods without a beak. Therefore, currently, at least 8 Colleges of Veterinary Medicine that are incorporating 3D printing technology into their programs as both a cutting-edge teaching and clinical tool. 3D printing is not only being used for prosthetics but also for surgical models (allowing allow surgeons to physically hold and examine the skulls and bones in their hands), canine masks (which lead to quick recovery from fractured bones), and 3D printed implants.  

3D printing has proved extremely beneficial because it is low cost and is an effective way to receive direct visualization which can allow for surgical planning and practice. This was demonstrated when Dr. Michelle Oblak at the Ontario Veterinary College used 3D printed customized part of the skull of a dog with a massive brain tumor. She remarked on how well-prepared she and her colleague were when they walked into the operating room because they had been able to study the 3D model of the dog’s head and tumor and to have the 3D printed skull replacement on hand. More importantly, it is consistent and very accurate which decreases surgical time especially when patient specific guides can be developed. The capacity to easily build complicated three-dimensional structures and add specific surfaces without requiring several engineering processes is the most significant benefit of this method over more conventional production methods. However, the innovation continues beyond that point. Recently, veterinarians can print using natural tissue!  Using a new technique called 'in-air microfluidics', scientists succeeded in printing 3D structures with living cells. This special technique enables the fast and 'in-flight' production of micro building blocks that are viable and can be used for repairing damaged tissues. Microfluidics is all about manipulating tiny drops of fluid with sizes between a micrometer and a millimeter. Such advancements are revolutionizing the veterinary medicine by the second, leaving us eagerly anticipating and excited for the future!