Use of FDM Technology in Healthcare Applications: Recent Advances

Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies, which were developed around 30 years ago, are still evolving. They are applied in different sectors such as aeronautics, automotive, health, etc. There are different AM technologies: binder jetting, direct energy deposition, material extrusion, material jetting, powder bed fusion, sheet lamination and vat photopolimerisation. Amongst all of them, material extrusion is the most common technique used nowadays, due to several reasons: manufacture of parts is easy and cost-effective, desktop 3D printers are affordable, and they allow the use of many different materials. Within this AM category, two main techniques can be highlighted: FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication), also known as FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling), and DIW (Direct Ink Writing). FFF is the most typical technology which can offer multimaterial 3D printed parts. In addition, it can be mixed with other AM technologies in order to build hybrid 3D printers. Main applications of the FFF technology in the medical sector, which are explained in detail in the present chapter, are the manufacture of training models and surgical planning prototypes, medical devices, surgical guides, bio-active scaffolds, and cell 3D-bioprinting, etc. During the global pandemic of COVID-19, the FDM technology allowed to print different devices such as face masks or artificial breathers, among others.