What if surgeons could replace damaged bone with a solution tailor-made to each patient?
That's the question researchers at the University of Waterloo are seeking to answer as they develop a material that mimics the behaviour of human bone and is capable of being 3D printed with a high degree of accuracy.
Identifying a solution
Dr. Thomas Willett
Professor, Faculty of Engineering
Lead researcher Dr. Thomas Willett, from the Department of Systems Design Engineering, was influenced by his experiences working with orthopaedic surgeons at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.
"I learned that the methods being used, though successful, were extremely complicated and required a lot of skill," Willett said. "I thought we could do something with engineering, using 3D printing to produce a bone graft."
