The new 3d printing point-of-care lab at Singapore’s National University Hospital (NUH) could reduce operation time by half for patients with complex medical conditions.

The lab will be able to produce patient-specific body parts like hips, knee joints and even soft tissue like organs. It will help surgeons with pre-operation planning and surgical simulation.

In addition, surgeons can also use patient-specific body parts as visual tools to educate and prepare patients for their procedures. This helps reassure patients and reduce stress and anxiety before the surgery.

Dr Gavin O’Neill, senior consultant, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, NUH, said in the press interview that the 3D Printed models very accurately reproduce the underlying conditions patients have. This helps immensely in planning for complicated surgeries like deformity correction, revision surgery and cancer surgery.

The 3D Printing (3DP) Point of Care Lab is managed by J&J Singapore within the premises of NUH, making it the first of its kind in Singapore. In this Point-of-Care model, J&J’s biomedical engineers will work closely with NUH clinicians to design and produce personalised anatomical models for preoperative planning and surgical simulation.

The plans are also to produce other medical devices and instruments such as surgical guides for complex surgery in the near future. Primed for the digital age, the lab will also explore mixed reality (MR) technology to support the development of next-generation clinical applications and better improve patient safety in surgery.