3D-printed airway saves baby's life

If you think 3D printing is just another fad or a useless hobby, think again: a 3D-printed body part just saved a baby's life.

 

The device 3D-printed by the University of Michigan stopped the tracheobronchomalacia that threatened Kaiba Gionfriddo's life, the University of Michigan Health System said.

 

“Groundbreaking discoveries that save lives of individuals across the nation and world are happening right here in Ann Arbor. I continue to be inspired and proud of the extraordinary people and the amazing work happening across the Health System,” said Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, M.D., U-M executive vice president for medical affairs and CEO of the U-M Health System.

 

Kaiba is now 20 months old, and doing quite well, in contrast to what doctors told his mother April when they saw his condition.

 

“Quite a few doctors said he had a good chance of not leaving the hospital alive. At that point, we were desperate. Anything that would work, we would take it and run with it,” April Gionfriddo recalled.

 

At the time, researchers at the U-M were developing a bioresorbable device that could help Kaiba.

 

Glenn Green, M.D., associate professor of pediatric otolaryngology, and colleague Scott Hollister Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering and associate professor of surgery at U-M acted on the case.

FDA-approved

 

Both secured an emergency clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to create and implant a tracheal splint for Kaiba made from a biopolymer called polycaprolactone.

 

Green and Hollister used high-resolution imaging and computer-aided design, based on a CT scan of Kaiba's trachea/bronchus.

 

They then combined an image-based computer model with laser-based 3D printing to produce the splint.

 

They implanted the splint in Kaiba on February 9, 2012. they sewed the splint around Kaiba’s airway to expand the bronchus and give it a skeleton to aid proper growth.

 

In three years, the splint is expected to be reabsorbed by the body.

 

“The material we used is a nice choice for this. It takes about two to three years for the trachea to remodel and grow into a healthy state, and that’s about how long this material will take to dissolve into the body,” said Hollister.

Kaiba's case

 

“Kaiba’s case is definitely the highlight of my career so far. To actually build something that a surgeon can use to save a person’s life? It’s a tremendous feeling," he added.

 

Green said severe cases like Kaiba’s, while relatively rare, are frightening, as a normal cold can cause a baby to stop breathing.

 

U-M noted that in Kaiba’s case, the family was out at a restaurant when he was six weeks old and he turned blue.

 

“He has not had another episode of turning blue. We are so thankful that something could be done for him. It means the world to us,” April added.

 

“It was amazing. As soon as the splint was put in, the lungs started going up and down for the first time and we knew he was going to be OK,” Green said.

 

With the 3D-printed part, Kaiba got off ventilator support 21 days after the procedure. He has had no diffculty breathing since.

 

Reconstructing body parts

 

U-M said the image-based design and 3D biomaterial printing process can be adapted to reconstruct other tissue structures.

 

So far, Green and Hollister used the process to build and test patient specific ear and nose structures in pre-clinical models.

 

Also, the method has been used by Hollister with collaborators to rebuild bone structures such as the spine, craniofacial and long bone in pre-clinical models.

 

Tech site TechCrunch said the 3D-printed part included 100 tiny tubes that were laser-stitched together over the trachea.

 

"Considering that most of the news around 3D printers has been about lethal, undetectable firearms, it’s nice to know that people are also using humanity’s newly found technological powers for good," it said. — TJD, GMA News