A unique partnership bringing together medics, manufacturing researchers and Rapid Prototyping specialists has just been signed at the NHS Innovation Expo at London's Excel Centreshow on 19th June.  The partnership will make the very latest rapid prototyping available to medical researchers and practicing medical consultants.  

Rapid prototyping machine manufactures Objet have provided one of their Connex500™ cutting edge 3D printing systems to a new partnership between medical and engineering researchers from The University of Warwick’s Institute of Digital Healthcare and  Rapid Prototyping technology specialists Industrial Plastic Fabrications Ltd. 

The partnership aims to take advantage of the latest advances in prototyping machine  technology that can now, in a single build process, print parts and assemblies made of several materials with differing mechanical and physical properties. This allows for the production of highly accurate anatomical models that go far beyond being a simple single rigid block of plastic. Now medics can, in just one pass through a Rapid prototyping machine produce a 3D replica of a body part which can display several different elements (for instance skin, blood vessels, muscles etc) in a range of different colours and textures . 

Dr Greg Gibbons, from the University of Warwick’s Institute of Digital Healthcare said:

 “The partnership brings together medical researchers and technologists from the University of Warwick’s Institute of Digital healthcare with one of the leading companies working in this sector. The partnership will have one of the few machines capable of producing this advanced form of rapid prototyping. This is a unique combination in Europe which will certainly produce significant practical advances in this area of health care technology”. 

For further information please contact: 

Peter Dunn, Press and Media Relations Manager
Communications Office, University House, University of Warwick,
email: p.j.dunn@warwick.ac.uk  
Tel: +44 (0)24 76 523708  Mobile/Cell:  +44 (0)7767 655860
Twitter:   @PeterJDunn  

 

19th June 2009