May 23, 2013, 2:14 pm

Day’s Best: 3-D printer saves baby’s life

After the depressing news earlier this month that some idiot in Texas was designing a plastic gun that anyone could make at home on a 3-D printer, the story coming out of Michigan is a pleasant contrast.

Doctors at the University of Michigan have used 3-D printing technology to save the life of an Ohio infant, Kaiba Gionfriddo, who was born with a birth defect that made his airway keep collapsing, causing his breathing to stop and threatening his heart. The doctors used the printer to create tiny tubes that they then fused together to make a splint to keep open the infant’s airway.

That was over a year ago. The baby is 19 months old now, and doctors say he’s had no problems with his airway.

The splint is expected to dissolve over time and be replaced by normal tissue.

It was the first time such 3-D printing had been used to treat such a medical condition.


So are we.

The same technology that can be used to make plastic items that can kill can also save a life. We hope 3-D printing is used more for good than evil.

Article Comments

Most Popular