A 3D printing of spines — models actually — is helping doctors heal scoliosis patients.

 

Megan Johansen of Anthem met with doctors at St. Joseph Hospital. “And they’re like, ‘We’ll be back in ten minutes,” she recalled. “And they came back in with my spine. I was like, oh my gosh!”

 

The printer at the Barrow Innovation Center crafted every bone based on Johansen’s x-ray. The center’s founder, Dr. Michael Bohl, then practiced on the model.

 

“For long procedures, or high-risk procedures, we can get to the operating room fully rehearsed and confident,” he said. Doctors would be less likely to damage nerves when straightening and fusing Johansen’s spine. They reduced her 90-degree curvature to 13 degrees in five hours. “I was five inches taller,” Johansen said. “That was a shocker. I’m learning all sorts of new things I didn’t know were real for tall people.” Now […]

Click here to view original web page at ktar.com