Projects per year
Abstract
Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies have disrupted many supply chains by making new designs and functionalities possible. The opportunity to realize complex customized structures has led to significant interest within healthcare; however, full utilization critically requires the alignment of the whole supply chain. To offer insights into this process, a survey was conducted to understand the views of different medical AM stakeholders. The results highlighted an agreement between academics, designers, manufacturers, and medical experts, that personalization and design control are the main benefits of AM. Interestingly, surface finish was consistently identified as an obstacle. Nevertheless, there was a degree of acceptance that post-processing was necessary to achieve appropriate quality control. Recommendations were made for extending the use of in situ process monitoring systems to support improved reproducibility. Variations in the future vision of AM were highlighted between stakeholder groups and areas of interest for development noted for each stakeholder. Collectively, this survey indicates that medical stakeholders agree on the capabilities of AM but have different priorities for its implementation and progression. This highlights a degree of disconnection among the supply chain at a ground level; thus, collaboration on AM specific standards and enhancement of communication between stakeholders from project inception is recommended.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 586 |
Pages (from-to) | 205-219 |
Journal | International Journal of Bioprinting |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 29 Jun 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 29 Jun 2022 |
Keywords
- Additive manufacturing
- Healthcare
- Survey
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Dive into the research topics of 'Stakeholder Perspectives on the Current and Future of Additive Manufacturing in Healthcare'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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Invisible Customisation - A Data Driven Approach to Predictive Additive Manufacture Enabling Functional Implant Personalisation
Cox, S. (Principal Investigator) & Andrews, J. (Co-Investigator)
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council
1/05/20 → 30/04/23
Project: Research Councils