A 9-year old Canadian dachshund named Patches had a little bump on her forehead for many years. Her owners were unsure what it was, but not too concerned due to its small size (The Bark). However, once it grew to a huge size, Patches’ owners took her to the vet, who diagnosed her with a skull tumor. It was massive, and removing it would require the removal of 70% of her skull. However keeping the tumor in place would be fatal, as it was pressing into Patches’ brain and eye socket. (Time) Luckily for Patches, she was referred to Dr. Michelle Oblak, a Veterinary Surgical Oncologist at Ontario Medical College. Dr. Oblak knew the tumor had to be removed, but she also knew there had to be some kind of covering over Patches’ brain.
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| Patches before her surgery |
Dr. Oblak reached a stroke of inspiration. In recent years, large veterinary hospitals have been utilizing 3D printing technology for a variety of treatments from jaw reconstruction to ligament replacement. (New York Times). However, 3D printing has been rarely used in small, private clinics due to cost. However, Patches’ treatment was covered by a private Canadian group, and provides hope that someday 3D printing will be cheaper and more widely available for clinical use. Dr. Oblak reached a very innovative idea for Patches: to 3D print a titanium plate to replace the portion of the skull removed. Dr. Oblak noted the usefulness of 3D printing especially in dogs, “because their skulls vary in shape, from the flat snouts of boxers to the long ones of greyhounds” (New York Times).
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| A Happy Healed Pup! |
Dr. Oblak’s decision to use a 3D printer needed help to be successful. In order to make the titanium plate as effective as possible, Dr. Oblak collaborated with an Engineer. Using the Engineer’s technical skill to make the 3D printing as precise as it could be, as well as Dr. Oblak’s medical knowledge, they were able to successfully make an artificial skull to fit Patches’ head. (Time). Patches even got up and was running around a few hours after her surgery! The collaboration that Dr. Oblak used to successfully help Patches is beneficial, as outlined by Brian Uzzi and Jarret Spiro. Uzzi and Spiro note how creativity increases when collaborators have a “small world,” where connections lead to other connections and deeper collaborations. For example, hopefully the decision by Dr. Oblak to collaborate with a medical engineer will someday lead to a Doctor collaborating with a Medical Engineer to similarly 3D print a skull, and the creative choices will keep snowballing from there.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/25/science/3d-print-dog-skull.html
This is such a cute story!!!!!! its really amazing to see how engineers and doctors can work together to create things like that 3D printed skull. It also amazes me how far 3D printing has come in the last couple of years.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a wonderful, heartwarming story! Thank you for sharing, Carolyn. It really is incredible to see how the medical (and veterinary) field has shifted within the last decade due to technology. I remember in one of the first neuro seminar classes I had this semester, Dr. Morrison mentioned how within the next 20 years it will be almost required that Neuroscientists and Neurologists have an understanding of Computer Science/Coding. I wonder if 3D printing will be the same way for veterinarians!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing what modern medicine and technology can do to help the health of not only humans but also animals! This is such a heartwarming story about a beautiful pup. I hope that 3D printing prices will drop in the future due to how useful they are, but the price sometimes makes it hard to outweigh the outcome; however, I'm so glad that Dr. Oblak came up with this creative idea and the Canadians joined in helping this pup survive.
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