Maria Middelares launches centre of expertise in medical 3D printing technology

Maria Middelares is taking a new step in the development of innovative 3D-printed medical applications. The radiology and orthopaedics departments have been developing applications like this for their own use for several years. In the future, other medical disciplines (e.g. cardiothoracic surgery, stomatology and oncological surgery) from the four clinical locations of Maria Middelares, as well as external physicians, will also be able to use these resources.

Innovative 3D printing technology offers numerous benefits in the medical field. A few concrete examples:

• making certain surgical procedures more efficient and smoother with custom-designed cutting tools
• enhancing pre-operative planning with virtual or 3D-printed anatomical models
• clarifying certain medical procedures for patients using 3D prints

The new 3D printing lab is being established as part of Health Value Space Ghent and works closely with Materialise, a Belgian global leader in 3D printing that is headquartered in Leuven.

Team of experts

Thanks to the financial support from the EIS fund for innovation at Maria Middelares, the 3D lab has been expanded with new experts and state-of-the-art infrastructure. The 3D lab is now a collaboration between surgeons, radiologists, engineers and imaging technicians.