Brain Surgery With Zero Risk, Via 3-D Printer

A new kind of model could change how surgeons learn to operate.

By Beryl Lieff Benderly
May 9, 2014 6:30 PMNov 12, 2019 4:42 AM
3D-printed-brain.jpg
Medical physicist Frank Bova demonstrates the brain surgery model in his University of Florida lab. Bova inserts a probe into a 3-D-printed head and watches his movements inside the skull via X-ray. | University of Florida Health

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A patient lies unconscious on the operating table. Fluid in her brain cavities has built up to dangerous levels. For the patient to survive, a neurosurgeon must drill a hole in her skull to insert a drainage tube. And fast. But a slight slip of the surgeon’s hand could result in hemorrhaging, memory loss, partial paralysis or even death.

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