Computational Fabrication

One of the projects that I admire that involves computational fabrication is 3D printed prosthetics. Specifically, there is a project where veterinarians from ZooTampa and the director of 3D clinical applications at USF came up with the idea of 3D printing a prosthetic for a bird who had to get its beak removed. The prosthetic ended up saving the bird’s life.  First, they used CT scans to make sure that the prosthetic fit properly, then the scans were used to develop and print a guide. This helped the doctors perform the surgery and make sure that when the original beak was removed, the prosthetic would be able to accurately take its place. The team used something called BioMed White resin (which is relatively new material), to make the beak. This method can not only be used for animals, but eventually for humans and other species. With this type of technology and ability, we would be able to save countless lives of both animals and humans.

Picture of the bird saved by prosthetic.