Mitigation of tracheobronchomalacia with 3D-printed personalized medical devices in pediatric patients.
Three-dimensional (3D) printing offers the potential for rapid customization of medical devices. The advent of 3D-printable biomaterials has created the potential for device control in the fourth dimension: 3D-printed objects that exhibit a designed shape change under tissue growth and resorption conditions over time. Tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) is a condition of excessive collapse of the airways during respiration that can lead to life-threatening cardiopulmonary arrests. We demonstrate the successful application of 3D printing technology to produce a personalized medical device for treatment of TBM, designed to accommodate airway growth while preventing external compression over a predetermined time period before bioresorption. We implanted patient-specific 3D-printed external airway splints in three infants with severe TBM. At the time of publication, these infants no longer exhibited life-threatening airway disease and had demonstrated resolution of both pulmonary and extrapulmonary complications of their TBM. Long-term data show continued growth of the primary airways. This process has broad application for medical manufacturing of patient-specific 3D-printed devices that adjust to tissue growth through designed mechanical and degradation behaviors over time.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Robert J
RJ
Morrison
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Scott J
SJ
Hollister
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Matthew F
MF
Niedner
Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Maryam Ghadimi
MG
Mahani
Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA.
Albert H
AH
Park
Department of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA.
Deepak K
DK
Mehta
Department of Cardiac Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Richard G
RG
Ohye
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. gegreen@med.umich.edu.
Glenn E
GE
Green
D002648:Child; D004864:Equipment and Supplies; D006801:Humans; D057285:Precision Medicine; D066330:Printing, Three-Dimensional; D055089:Tracheobronchomalacia / Q000628:therapy*