Gorilla Receives World’s First, 3D Printed Titanium Cast to Heal Broken Arm

We all know about additive manufacturing’s benefits when it comes to creating prosthetics and orthotics for human beings, but what about one of humanity’s closest living relatives (after chimpanzees and bonobos)? Well, for at least one primate, it seems that AM is the key to better veterinary care. Cincinnati Zoo has announced that one of its gorillas, eleven-year-old Gladys, will be receiving a world-first, a titanium, 3D-printed cast. The hope is that this stronger and customized version will be harder to break as well as more comfortable for the gorilla during the at least 6-week recovery period.

According to a press release from Cincinnati Zoo, Gladys had to undergo surgery to repair a broken humerus after a scuffle with two younger females in her troop. The complete, oblique facture is not one commonly seen at the zoo, which is why the vet staff enlisted the expertise of top surgeons and anesthesiologists from local hospitals. Furthermore, after seeing that Gladys was at risk of destroying her cast, they reached out to GE Additive to create the titanium, 3D printed cast.

Gladys’ temporary cast lacked durability, a detriment to the healing process

Creating a Titanium, 3D Printed Cast for a Gorilla

Thanks to the flexibility and speed of additive manufacturing, Gladys did not need to wait long for her new cast. Shannon Morman, advanced lead engineer at GE Additive (now Colibrium Additive), who was on-site to help with any necessary adjustments, explained “One benefit of 3D printing is fast turnaround times. Following a call on Friday afternoon, our team met up over the weekend to create initial design ideas. The following Monday we scanned the original cast to create a 3D model and were ready to start printing the same day. The titanium cast took around 65 hours to print, and we were able to deliver it to the Zoo team in under a week.”