Medical applications of stereolithography: An overview

Stereolithography or three-dimensional printing (3DP) is a fast-growing field, with increasing number of health-care applications. As an industry, stereolithography is expected to grow from an estimated $700 million to nearly $9 billion in revenue over the next few years, mainly due to continued advancements and practical implementations of the technology. More established applications of 3DP in medicine involve the creation of wearable assist devices, prosthetics, and orthotics. Research is ongoing in the area of incorporating biologic (including genetic) implementations of 3DP technology, with the long-term goal of three-dimensional printing of organs and tissues that can be subsequently implanted into human body. Given that applications of 3DP in health-care have only recently begun to proliferate, there continues to be paucity of literature in this important and rapidly evolving area of research. In the current review, we sought to present a comprehensive and most current high-level overview of 3DP, with the goal of catalyzing better general understanding and promoting research in 3DP for biomedical applications. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Medical knowledge, Systems-Based Practice.