Innovative 3D printing projects awarded funding for areas of unmet clinical need

Proposals from Manchester clinicians to use 3D printing and simulation to tackle areas of unmet clinical need have been awarded funding to kickstart their innovative projects.

Supported by the Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT) Charity, the CMFT and MIMIT call granted a total of £40,000 to pilot projects led or supported by staff from CMFT to work with specialist teams to co-develop pioneering medical technology.

The successful bids included; developing realistic models to potentially improve surgical outcomes in treating childhood squints, more accurately simulating eye surgery in the classroom, printing 3D replica teeth for dental training and creating durable and customised soft-tissue facial prostheses, among many others.

The Trust has teamed up with Digital Innovation and the 3D Print Centre at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), the Digital Fabrication Centre at the University of Manchester (UoM) and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) at Daresbury to give clinicians and researchers access to innovative technology and facilities to take their projects further.

Projects are also being led by clinicians from University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.

Keith Chantler, Director of Innovation at CMFT, said: “This partnership with MIMIT, colleagues at MMU, UoM and STFC, and the wider Manchester healthcare community, gives us a real opportunity to develop cutting-edge technological solutions which will benefit clinicians and patients in the future.”