New Research Underway in South Korea on Advanced 3D Printed Medical Devices

The adoption of additive manufacturing within the medical sector is a headline that has become more and more common as researches and companies around the world look for innovative and efficient ways to help and heal. Among the frontrunners, South Korea has often been in the spotlight as a hub of research and development for combining medicine and 3D printing. Recently, the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) entered into a joint collaboration agreement with the Pusan National University Hospital (PNUH). Their goal? Research and development into advanced 3D printed medical devices.

More precisely, the agreement between the organizations involves two specific centers perfectly suited to the task. The UNIST 3D Printing Convergence Technology Center has been active for several years and actively seeks to promote the research and use of additive manufacturing across a broad range of industries by seeking out various partnership opportunities such as their current project. They will be working in conjunction with the PNUH Medical Device Usability Evaluation Center, the first of its kind as a specialized testing and evaluation facility to be located in a non-metropolitan area.

Pusan National University Hospital (Photo credits: PNUH)

Located within the largest comprehensive medical cluster in the country, the teams will have access to specialized facilities and medical experts to run the most comprehensive and rigorous tests possible. While so far there is no information about the exact research projects or printing methods the teams will be using, the location and amount of expertise on hand suggests a wide range of applications including metal powder bed fusion 3D printing.