

75% of a human skull replaced with 3D-printed material  - benigeri
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/150354-75-of-a-human-skull-replaced-with-3d-printed-material

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sgdesign
For some reason, I understood this headline as "75% of a human _brain_
replaced with 3D-printed material". I must say it left me perplexed for a few
seconds… (maybe my brain _could_ be replaced by 3D-printed material after
all…)

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whtrbt
I assume the answer is no, but there's no mention on any of the articles I've
read as to whether this was cosmetic.

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magicarp
Who in their right mind would want a cosmetic skull replacement?

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mixmastamyk
Dunno, mine is a bit lopsided.

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LAMike
I wonder if 3D printing will have an effect on cosmetic plastic surgery one
day

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nwh
Plastic surgery, oddly enough, contains no plastic.

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RyanMcGreal
The word "plastic" in plastic surgery refers to plasticity - the ability of an
object to be reshaped or reformed.

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pvaldes
mmh, I wonder about plastic leaking pseudo-hormones to the capillaries
surrounding the brain, or simply about to lean for several hours in a beach
over hot sun if you have a "plastic roof"...

The question is what 3d-printed material I suppose... an interesting idea in
any case

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DoubleCluster
Sadly the material is not adamantium.

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manglav
Unfortunately, metal implants in the body still cause long-term problems and
inflammation in the surrounding area. Otherwise, they could have used laser
sintering to make a adamantium skull.

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bcoates
Do you have more details on that? I've got long-term metal implants in my
bones, I thought it was routine.

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graeham
Metal implants are routine, and usually the "best of the alternatives" in
implant design. The body generally tries to isolate metal implants, making
them mostly inert, although this does depend a bit on which metal.

The main problems with metal implants are that the can shed ions that
accumulate in some people, and that wear particles can cause psuedo-tumors.
This is mainly a problem with metal-on-metal joint surfaces (ie in knee or hip
replacements). Some more info here:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_replacement#Risks_and_compl...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_replacement#Risks_and_complications)

And 3D printed, titanium implants have already been made over a year ago
[http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57372095-76/3d-printer-
pro...](http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57372095-76/3d-printer-produces-new-
jaw-for-woman/)
[http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=230500&dfp...](http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=230500&dfpPParams=ind_183,aid_230500&dfpLayout=article)

I actually would have thought that titanium would be the go-to for orthopeadic
plates in the skull. I would have thought plastics aren't stiff enough and
ceramics too brittle.

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HeyLaughingBoy
I wonder if the increased thermal conductivity of titanium over plastic was a
consideration. I can see how having a skull plate that heats/cools much faster
than surrounding bone could be a problem.

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rorrr
Fossils just got a lot more interesting.

