[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/12946\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EFrom trade fair to advanced surgery: the research project that pioneered 3D printing in medicine\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 1990, Fried Vancraen visited a German trade show and was captivated by a 3D printer displayed there \u2013 so much so that he bought one for his new company, Materialise. Two years later, with the help of EU funding, he took his small Belgian start-up on a journey that would change the world of medicine \u2013 and 3D printing \u2013 forever.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVancraen and Materialise pioneered the use of 3D printing for medical purposes, with partners from Germany and the UK. For the first time they started producing accurate, tangible models of human bones and organs, based on medical images. This provided immense help for surgeons planning complex procedures.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAlready then, we were convinced 3D printers would change the medical world,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter Materialise went from a university spin-off to a multinational enterprise, Vancraen retired from the executive position in 2024 to become company chairman. But he still vividly remembers the excitement of embarking on a new chapter to test their ideas more than 30 years ago.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat helped them start along this path was an EU grant for their research project called PHIDIAS. It ran for three years, until the end of 1995, and focused on producing accurate medical models based on improved medical images, mostly\u0026nbsp;computed tomography (CT).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOf course I remember it,\u201d Vancraen exclaimed when asked about it. \u201cI was the project manager, I wrote the\u0026nbsp;[funding]\u0026nbsp;proposal and I brought together the partners.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EToday, we 3D-print implants customised for the patient.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003ERoel Wirix-Speetjens, Materialise\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey included Imperial Chemical Industries from the UK, whose pharmaceutical arm went on to become a separate company, Zeneca, in 1993, as well as Siemens, the industrial giant from Germany that manufactured medical imaging devices, and KU Leuven University in Belgium.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHaving started as an offshoot of KU Leuven, Materialise now employs around 2\u0026nbsp;000 people and is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, 3D printing has become a cornerstone of surgical healthcare. 3D printers are regularly used to make implants, prosthetics and models of a patient\u2019s body on which surgeons can train.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen Materialise started, however, the technology was in its early days. There were doubts about how useful it could be and whether doctors could use it to treat real patients.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWork started in earnest on 1 January 1993, less than three years after the company was founded.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThose were our start-up days,\u201d said Vancrean. \u201cWe had a team of around 20 people at the time.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EFrom salami sausage to spiral scan\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Vancraen\u2019s team, the first priority was to improve medical imaging.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTaking a CT scan at the time was like cutting a salami,\u201d Vancraen remembered. \u201cTo make the scan, the scanner would make an image of one layer of the patient\u2019s body and then be moved forward a few centimetres to make another scan \u2013 just like you would slice a sausage.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEvery time the patient moved, even in the slightest, you would get issues in the image,\u201d Vancraen said, referring to the so-called artefacts, unintended patterns or distortions in the imaging.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E3D printing requires accurate images of the patient\u2019s body. If, for example, you want to 3D-print an implant that will seamlessly fit, you need the exact image of the patient\u2019s body. Artefacts in the scan will mean medical issues and discomfort for patients later on.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is why the team around Materialise replaced the \u201csalami method\u201d with a spiral CT scan. \u201cWe managed to scan the patient in one movement,\u201d said Vancraen. \u201cThe CT would move in a spiral around them.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother hurdle was cleared when Zeneca, which later merged with Sweden\u2019s drugs firm Astra to form AstraZeneca, developed a human-compatible polymer that was 3D-printable. This replaced older polymers that were often toxic for humans and could not be used for implants.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EWalking before running\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESeeking to scale up their pioneering technique, Materialise took their technology to the university hospital of Leuven, their hometown. There they tested whether surgeons could actually benefit from 3D printing, working closely with 30 surgeons from Belgium, France, Germany and the US.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe did the first real clinical study on 3D printing in healthcare,\u201d said Vancraen. In particular, they helped surgeons prepare for complex surgery.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis team used laser\u0026nbsp;stereolithography, a technique that prints complex, accurate models layer by layer. It works by focusing an ultraviolet laser on resin made of large molecules sensitive to UV light, with the help of computer-aided design software.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing their new scanners that were able to produce better medical imaging, they made 3D-printed models of organs and body parts the surgeons would operate on. This way, surgeons could prepare for what they would encounter inside the patient\u2019s body and adjust their approach.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn several cases, we managed to reduce the number of surgeries a patient had to go through,\u201d said Vancraen.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne person had three surgeries planned. Because of our technology, the surgeon could plan them better and actually complete the procedure in one surgery. That reduced the impact on their body tremendously.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy combining improved scanning and printing, PHIDIAS was the team who laid the foundation for future advances in medical 3D printing.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe needed to learn how to walk before we could learn how to run,\u201d said Vancraen. \u201cPHIDIAS was the moment we learned how to walk.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EStepping stone\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the researchers doing the running at Materialise today is Roel Wirix-Speetjens, a medical research manager. He develops new solutions that build on the work done by PHIDIAS researchers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cPHIDIAS created our medical division,\u201d he said. \u201cSince then, we have, for example, delivered more than 400\u0026nbsp;000 customised knee instruments. That\u2019s something I\u2019m very proud of,\u201d he said, referring to aid pieces that help surgeons work more accurately.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn one project, Materialise managed to make a detailed 3D model of a patient\u2019s lungs, including the airway tree and lung lobes, or sections of each lung. This model helps surgeons who need to remove lung cancer by allowing them to pinpoint the exact location of the tumour.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EIn several cases, we managed to reduce the number of surgeries a patient had to go through.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EFried Vancraen, PHIDIAS\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn this way, they remove less of the healthy lung tissue,\u201d said Wirix-Speetjens. \u201cThat makes the patient\u2019s recovery much less intense.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut they are also developing new 3D printing technologies. Among other things, Materialise has designed ways to improve facial surgery.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the past, if a patient suffered, for example, an injury that deformed their face, surgeons had to use standard implants to replace the damaged bone and tissue. They had to manually bend the implants during surgery to make them interlock with the remaining facial structure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cToday, we 3D-print implants customised for the patient,\u201d said Wirix-Speetjens. \u201cWe scan their faces and our 3D printers make intricate implants that allow surgeons to reconstruct the facial structure.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETreatment can now be customised to the needs of an individual. PHIDIAS was a key step in making that possible, with exciting opportunities still ahead.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have only been doing this for 34 years,\u201d said Vancraen. \u201cI don\u2019t know where we will end up.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU\u2019s Framework Programme. The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. 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