3D technologies in the medical industry: recent applications and future perspectives

The medical industry, and particularly the dental sector, can be considered as key areas with regard to the application and the latest developments of 3D printing. IBISWorld in 2013 estimated that worldwide patients with 3D printed dental implants were more than half a million. This technique, in fact, can replicate human parts with greater precision and in a shorter time compared to traditional manufacturing techniques, making possible also the production of complex shapes and extremely light parts, which can be used for the creation of prosthesis: an interesting perspective considering the potential demand in countries with an aging population. The fast growth rate of this technique is due to the main advantages of this technology, which allow cheaper and faster prototyping (through 3D scanners and CAD), manufacturing (for smaller volumes) and customization processes, with the possibility to release products with open-source licenses for which the whole community is called to an ongoing commitment of research and improvement. The present research, aims at deeply understanding the characteristics, benefits and adoption strategies that qualify innovative production processes in dental industry (i.e. CEREC system), in order to obtain a comparative cost-benefit analysis with traditional ones.