There are many applications of 3D printing in the medical world and it is no longer surprising if experts in this field will develop even more outrageous uses for it. While it is common to hear about 3D printed bones or other important organs of the body, some researchers have already taken 3D printing to the next level by printing body parts which 3D printers do not commonly print.

German cosmetic industry giant Anita has recently used 3D printers to create breast prosthetics. The breast prostheses are very identical to the user’s breasts. This new invention is geared towards women who are breast cancer survivors or those who are transitioning from male to female.

Anita is an underwear brand and they have adopted the 3D printing technology to help women who are in dire need for breast prostheses. Georg ber Unger, one of the junior directors of Anita, noted that the conventional silicone breast prostheses need large number of molds in order to be made. Moreover, the molds also change all the time and this creates a problem especially when it comes to making the prostheses. In fact, the use of conventional templates makes the production of conventional breast prostheses very time-consuming. A single pair will have to take 14 days in order to be finished.

The use of 3D printer has made the process very easy. To make the 3D printed breast prostheses, an aluminum mold is used. The model is also scanned and reworked in a CAD software to create an identical synthetic breast of the patient.