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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Development of a Multi-Material 3D Printer for

Functional Anatomic Models

Laszlo Jaksa *, Dieter Pahr , Gernot Kronreif , Andrea Lorenz 1
1
1,2
2,3
1 Austrian Center for Medical Innovation and Technology (ACMIT Gmbh), Viktor-Kaplan-Strasse 2/A, 2700 Wiener
Neustadt, Austria
2 Technical University of Vienna, Institute of Lightweight Design and Structural Biomechanics, Object 8, Gumpendorfer
Strasse 7, 1060 Vienna, Austria
3 Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Department of Anatomy and Biomechanics, Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Strasse 30,
3500 Krems an der Donau, Austria

Abstract: Anatomic models are important in medical education and pre-operative planning as they help students or doctors
prepare for real scenarios in a risk-free way. Several experimental anatomic models were made with additive manufacturing
techniques to improve geometric, radiological, or mechanical realism. However, reproducing the mechanical behavior of soft
tissues remains a challenge. To solve this problem, multi-material structuring of soft and hard materials was proposed in this
study, and a three-dimensional (3D) printer was built to make such structuring possible. The printer relies on extrusion to
deposit certain thermoplastic and silicone rubber materials. Various objects were successfully printed for testing the feasibility
of geometric features such as thin walls, infill structuring, overhangs, and multi-material interfaces. Finally, a small medical
image-based ribcage model was printed as a proof of concept for anatomic model printing. The features enabled by this printer
offer a promising outlook on mimicking the mechanical properties of various soft tissues.
Keywords: Silicone 3D printing; Multi-material 3D printing; Anatomic models; Soft tissues

*Correspondence to: Laszlo Jaksa, Austrian Center for Medical Innovation and Technology, Viktor-Kaplan-Strasse 2/A, 2700 Wiener Neustadt,
Austria; laszlo.jaksa.official@gmail.com
Received: July 20, 2021; Accepted: September 1, 2021; Published Online: October 12, 2021

Citation: Jaksa L, Pahr D, Kronreif G, et al., 2021, Development of a Multi-Material 3D Printer for Functional Anatomic Models. Int J
Bioprint, 7(4):420. http://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.v7i4.420

1. Introduction show that the use of physical anatomic models improves
medical education from various aspects due to the
1.1. Anatomic models additional haptic and spatial information students could
In medical practice and education, anatomic models are not receive through books or screen visualizations [5-7] .
provided through using human donors, animal models, or In the surgical domain, anatomical models can aid the
artificial technical solutions that range from hand-crafted planning of complicated surgeries in a wide range of
training models to mass-produced commercial products. surgical specialties, since rehearsing the steps of the
In the former case of using real biological tissues, operation on a patient-specific model can reveal upcoming
progress is often hindered by the lack of available human intra-operative complications [2,8-11] . This can significantly
donors, strict regulations regarding animal and human reduce the risk and duration of certain operations, which
testing, and problems in experiment repeatability due may result in the lower risk of complication and higher
to the anatomical uniqueness of every human or animal patient satisfaction . Moreover, patient-specific models
[12]
specimen [1,2] . Using advanced artificial anatomical models help the development of various customized implants and
has the potential to ease these problems, especially in case other medical instruments [12-14] .
of anatomy or surgical education, pre-operative planning, Traditionally, artificial anatomical models are
or development of novel medical devices [3,4] . Studies mass-produced through casting or molding techniques,

© 2021 Jaksa, et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting distribution and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is cited.
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