$2 Million Research Grant Will Allow 3D Printing of Pediatric Medical Devices

A multi-disciplinary US team has been granted $2 million to use 3D printing in medical research. The team, from the University of Texas at Austin and Penn State, was given the money by the National Science Foundation’s LEAP-HI program for a research project promising to develop personalized 3D-printed medical devices using multi-materials.

The all-female research team, led in part by Dr Carolyn Seepersad, professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas Austin, is working in collaboration with Pennsylvania-based Actuated Medical Inc. The other academic leaders of the project are three professors from Penn State – Mary Frecker, department head and professor of mechanical engineering; Zoubeida Ounaies, professor of mechanical engineering; Lorraine Dowler, professor of geography, women’s, gender and sexuality studies.

Dr Carolyn Seepersad was one of the leads on the project. (Photo credit: The University of Texas at Austin)

3D printing offers a great advantage in the medical field for the ability to create personalized devices with complex geometries, but one limitation is the creation of smart and multi-material objects. This project has them seeking to make pediatric ventilation devices among others, which can change shape to match changing requirements such as size.