From stethoscopes and syringes to pacemakers and prosthetic joint replacements, the high-tech development of medical devices of all types is radically improving the ability of health professionals to detect, diagnose, treat, or even prevent injuries, illness, and serious chronic conditions.
The result of that progress is a dramatic 38 percent decrease in the number of patient-days spent in hospitals since 1980 ─ all thanks to thanks to the practical application of new medical technologies, according to statistics compiled by the New York-based Medtech Association.
The research and innovation to develop these ground-breaking technologies allows the U.S. ─ the largest medical device market in the world, comprising over 40 percent of the global medtech market ─ to continue leading the world in medical advancements.
At the fore of those new technologies is 3D printing which provides manufacturers with the flexibility to develop looks-like, feels-like, and works-like prototypes of surgical instruments, dental restorations such as crowns, external prosthetics, and even the most complex medical devices such as orthopedic, spinal, and cranial implants.
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, “provides a cost-effective, efficient, and customizable method for producing high-quality medical devices that can provide better outcomes for patients and reduced costs for healthcare,” states the industry analyst and consultancy MarketsandMarkets, adding that the technology “has become more important in the creation of anatomical models for surgical planning and medical education.”
“These anatomy models are based on patient imaging data, allowing surgical teams to rehearse complex procedures in advance of the operating room, reducing surgical risk while potentially enhancing precision.”
One educational institution firmly committed to advancing the technology is the University of Texas at Austin, where researchers have developed a fast, precise new 3D printing method that seamlessly merges soft and hard properties into a single object using different colors of light.
Motivation for the revolutionary development was based in nature, says Zachariah Page, an assistant professor of chemistry at UT Austin. “Nature does this in an organic way, combining hard and soft materials without failure at the interface. We wanted to replicate that.”
The new process reportedly creates medical devices that can move more naturally and flexibly with the body, like a joint or ligament.
According to Keldy Mason, lead author of a study published in the magazine ACS Central Science and a graduate student in Page’s lab, “This approach could make additive manufacturing more competitive for higher-volume production compared with traditional processes like injection molding. Just as important, it opens up new design possibilities,” she says. “This gives engineers, designers, and makers more freedom to create.”
Another school heavily involved in the advancement of medical device technology is the University of Arizona, which has established the groundwork for students to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Device Development and Application at its College of Medicine in Tucson.
The degree will be delivered as a collaboration between physicians, basic scientists, engineers, business professionals, lawyers, with an emphasis on medical device technology and manufacturing.
“Our first priority in establishing this new bachelor’s degree is to educate students who will be ready to join the workforce upon graduation,” says dean of the College of Medicine – Tucson, Dr. Michael M.I. Abecassis, MD, adding the school will start enrolling students in the new program in the spring of 2026.
“After four short years, these graduates will be fluent in the languages of medicine, engineering, business and law as these relate to medical devices,” he says.
“According to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a predicted shortage of 10,000 workers per year for the next 10 years in the biotech space, and entry level salaries for these jobs are quite high, especially given the demand,” concludes Abecassis.
“Today, the number of new drugs has been going down, but the number of new medical devices has been on the rise,” says Marvin Slepian, MD, a Regent Professor at the College of Medicine – Tucson and a director of the Arizona Center for Accelerated Biomedical Innovation.
The development of medical device technology is, he says, “definitely the wave of the future as the cost of medical device development and technology has been fairly stable compared to the cost of drug development.”
In 2023, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) established a “green spine lab” to give neurosurgery residents hands-on experience working on a trio of synthetic 3D-printed cadavers, each of which feature organs, bones, and skin that looks and feels realistic.
The alternative cadavers were obtained through an educational grant from Globus Medical, Inc.
“There are many advantages” to using the 3D specimens, says Dr. Noojan Kazemi, M.D., education director of UAMS’ Spine Neurosurgery Program. “First, the transportation costs are significantly reduced because there is no handling of a biological specimen. Secondly, when they come to UAMS, they can be stored in a dry space. We don’t need to store them refrigerated or frozen, and there is no time limit on how long they can be kept here.”
Houston’s Texas Medical Center Innovation helps to advance clinical and commercial development for early stage companies in the medical technology sector by connecting them with product designers and developers, medical researchers, and experienced advisors.
The self-described “factory” released the most recent roster of program selectees participating in the TMC’s five-month program, which includes several new firms applying 3D printing technology to their product design and development.
One participant in the mentorship program is OsseoLabs, which produces AI-assisted, 3D-printed patient-specific implants for craniofacial and orthopedic surgeries that are designed to gradually dissolve in the body after healing is complete.
“Unlike traditional titanium implants, which often require a second surgery for removal, the resorbable implants eliminate that extra surgery, reducing patient risk, recovery time, and not to mention, healthcare costs,” the company says.
The ease of use and low cost of in-house 3D printing has also revolutionized product development with a surging number of medical device manufacturers utilizing the technology.
- South Carolina-based spinal implant manufacturer DeGen Medical has announced its 3D printed Solar AM anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) device has been implanted at the Texas Back Institute.
The procedures were performed at the Texas Health Center for Diagnostics and Surgery within the Texas Back Institute, which is considered to be one of the largest ‘freestanding multidisciplinary academic spine centers in the world.’ - Late last year, the first 3D-printed spinal implant fabricated from Invibio Biomaterial Solutions’ PEEK-Optima polymer received approval from the Federal Drug Administration.
The new system consists of cervical and ALIF spine devices with each element incorporating porous structures that have the potential to promote multi-directional bone ingrowth and improve device fixation. - Auxilium Biotechnologies has successfully concluded a trial utilizing an Auxilium Microfabrication Platform (AMP-1) installed aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to simultaneously produce eight medical devices for use in peripheral nerve repair.
The trial, called Neurospan-1, has enrolled the first patient in the U.S. and aims to include 80 participants, the San Diego-based company says.
By printing in outer space, the company was able to create implants with extremely fine details, like the microchannels that help nerves grow back properly, without the risk of structural collapse caused by gravity. - Late last year, Ricoh USA began operations at its Point of Care 3D medical device manufacturing facility, the RICOH 3D for Healthcare Innovation Studio, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The Studio facility produces anatomic models for various medical applications, including diagnostics in the craniomaxillofacial, orthopedic, and cardiovascular fields, among others to provide clinicians with immediate access to 3D-printed anatomic models for surgical planning and patient education.
The models are created using segmented 3D print files available from medical images in FDA-cleared applications.
According to the company, the facility “is the first in a planned series of such facilities that will be connected directly to a health system.” - Pennsylvania-based B. Braun has said it will invest $20 million to expand and modernize its medical device manufacturing facility in the Lehigh Valley community of Hanover Township.
The investment will include modernizing the production equipment at the 710,000-square-foot facility, which produces more than 2,400 medical devices and related products in Lehigh County. - Phoenix-headquartered Pete Pharma is partnered with UK-based Fabrx to bring the company’s pharmaceutical 3D printing technology to the compounding pharmacy market in the U.S.
Fabrx’s pharmaceutical 3D printing platform ─ the M3DIMAKER 1 ─ is a single printhead pharmaceutical 3D printer used for the small-batch manufacture of personalized medical devices and medicines by hospitals, universities and clinical research centers.
According to the company, the AI-enabled printer is capable of rapid polypill manufacture of human and veterinary precision medicine and drug development and is designed for higher throughput, larger-batch manufacturing of personalized medicine and medical devices.
Fabrix also develops software that facilitates customizable 3D printing used to select a 3D model, prepare 3D printing parameters, and control the printers.
Bio: Michael D. White is a published author with four non-fiction books and well more than 1,700 by-lined articles on international transportation and trade to his credit.
