3D打印气管辅助呼吸，这一装置现在已挽救了三个孩子的生命。

这三个孩子患有一种罕见病—婴幼儿气管支气管软化症(tracheobronchomalacia)，他们的气管易于塌陷，导致窒息。

3D打印的这种人工气管可根据个体情况订制，而且这种埋置物可以伴随孩子的身体生长改变形状。

这种人工3D打印气管装置根据每个病人而特制出来，由生物可吸收材料制成，通过放置在气管外形成一种不完全的环状支撑，从而避免气管的塌陷。截至目前，只有三个孩子使用了这一装置，还不便就此判定这个装置是否对所有类似的病例都成功、适用，不过对于别无选择的患者而言，无疑这就是希望所在。

约2000分之一的孩子有可能患这种罕见疾病，气管发育异常因而易于塌陷，从而阻滞空气入肺导致窒息，严重者无法存活下来。如果有幸活到三岁，则他们的气管已经很强壮，不再有塌陷窒息的风险。

名叫Kaiba Gionfriddo的孩子在三月大的时候接受了这一装置，他那是情况危重，别无选择。现在小Kaiba活泼可爱，非常健康，已经成功长大到三岁。

这种人工气管装置埋置在体内三年后能被吸收消解，现在，Kaiba体内这一装置也正如计划中那样已经呈现消融迹象，不过没关系，小家伙的气管现在已经足够强壮，能够担负起它应负的那份责任了。

Mitigationof tracheobronchomalacia with 3D-printed personalized medical devices inpediatric patients

Abstract

Three-dimensional(3D) printing offers the potential for rapid customization of medical devices.The advent of 3D-printable biomaterials has created the potential for devicecontrol in the fourth dimension: 3D-printed objects that exhibit a designedshape change under tissue growth and resorption conditions over time.Tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) is a condition of excessive collapse of the airwaysduring respiration that can lead to life-threatening cardiopulmonary arrests.We demonstrate the successful application of 3D printing technology to producea personalized medical device for treatment of TBM, designed to accommodateairway growth while preventing external compression over a predetermined timeperiod before bioresorption. We implanted patient-specific 3D-printed externalairway splints in three infants with severe TBM. At the time of publication,these infants no longer exhibited life-threatening airway disease and haddemonstrated resolution of both pulmonary and extrapulmonary complications oftheir TBM. Long-term data show continued growth of the primary airways. Thisprocess has broad application for medical manufacturing of patient-specific3D-printed devices that adjust to tissue growth through designed mechanical anddegradation behaviors over time.

群晓科苑

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_7038ff370102vgef.html