It’s not exactly brain surgery – but it’s pretty close. An ultra-realistic 3D-printed skull that recreates the texture of different layers of tissue is allowing students to practise drilling into bone and removing a tumour. Vicknes Waran from the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and colleagues created the model using the latest generation of 3D printers, which can print plastic in a variety of textures, from rubbery to hard. By tweaking the printer’s settings, they mimicked the consistency of skin, bone and membranes to build up the layers inside a skull. To reproduce a jelly-like tumour, plastic was injected into an anatomically accurate cavity created by the printer, based on scans from a patient. It was then coloured red to add realism.
Hey, check out all the engineering jobs. Post your resume today!
