SIR Presents Study of 3D Printing as Innovative Method to Deliver Treatment

March 2, 2015—The Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) announced findings from a study that suggest that three-dimensional (3D) printing could become a powerful tool in customizing interventional radiology treatments to individual patient needs, with clinicians having the ability to construct devices to a specific size and shape. The study is being presented at the SIR.15, the society’s 40th annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. SIR noted that researchers and engineers collaborated to print catheters, stents, and filaments that were bioactive, giving these devices the ability to deliver antibiotics and chemotherapeutic medications to a targeted area in cell cultures.

Horacio R. D’Agostino, MD, who is Lead Investigator of the study and an interventional radiologist at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, commented in the SIR announcement, “Three-dimensional printing allows for tailor-made materials for personalized medicine. It gives us the ability to construct devices that meet patients’ needs, from their unique anatomy to specific medicine requirements. And as tools in interventional radiology, these devices are part of treatment options that are less invasive than traditional surgery.”  

According to SIR, Dr. D’Agostino and his team of biomedical engineers and nanosystem engineers at Louisiana State University and Louisiana Tech University used 3D printing technology and resorbable bioplastics to develop bioactive filaments, chemotherapy beads, and catheters and stents containing antibiotics or chemotherapeutic agents. The investigators then tested these devices in cell cultures to see if they could inhibit growth of bacteria and cancer cells. 

The investigators tested antibiotic-containing catheters that could slowly release the drug and found that the devices inhibited bacterial growth. They also found that filaments carrying chemotherapeutic agents were able to inhibit the growth of cancer cells. 

The investigators were also able to print biodegradable filaments, catheters, and stents that contain antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents. These types of devices may help patients avoid the need to undergo a second procedure or treatment when conventional materials are used. 

In the SIR announcement, Dr. D’Agostino commented, “We treat a wide variety of patients and, with some patients, the current one-size-fits-all devices are not an option. Three-dimensional printing gives us the ability to craft devices that are better suited for certain patient populations that are traditionally tough to treat, such as children and the obese, who have different anatomy. There’s limitless potential to be explored with this technology.” 

Dr. D’Agostino advised that this early success with 3D-printed instruments in the lab warrants further studies, with the goal of receiving approval to use these devices in humans. He also sees an opportunity to collaborate with other medical specialties to deliver higher-quality, personalized care to all types of patients, reported SIR.