Abstract
Additive manufacturing allows wide design freedom and manufacturing of complex parts. For the medical sciences, the fabrication of realistic and patient-specific 3D replica of organs offers exciting opportunities. Organ replicas allow better training, e.g. in endoscopy, open more avenues for medical research and can reduce the need for animal testing. However, the use of plastics for 3D printing inherently produces waste and needs to be considered with respect to a circular economy.
With the example of the upper half of a stomach replica for endoscopy, we showcase the feasibility of using recycled versus new polylactic acid (PLA) versus algae-based PLA as printing materials in a wire extrusion process. Furthermore, the stomach half replica is manufactured with elastic materials by stereolithography and polyjet binding, with the aim of improving the user experience and making the stomach model properties more realistic. This paper discusses printing energy, part dimensions and surface roughness, material recyclability, and waste in the context of the digital thread to enable more sustainable 3D printing practices for 3D organ replicas and a circular economy. We furthermore address post-processing of the 3D printed parts and usability in the context of medical training and research. This is a small case study which will be expanded in the future.
