This book examines the potential to deploy low-cost, three-dimensional printers known as RepRaps in developing countries to fabricate surgical instruments and medical supplies to combat the “global surgical burden of disease.” Approximately two billion people in developing countries around the world lack access to essential surgical services, resulting in the avoidable deaths of millions of individuals each year. A fundamental barrier that inhibits access to surgical care in these locations is the lack of basic surgical instruments and supplies in healthcare facilities. RepRap printers are highly versatile 3D printers assembled from basic, domestically sourced materials that can fabricate low-cost surgical instruments on-site, ultimately enhancing the interventional capacity of healthcare facilities to treat patients. Rather than focusing on one specific field of interest, this book takes an integrative approach that incorporates topics and methods from multiple disciplines ranging from global health and development economics to materials science and applied engineering. These topics include the feasibility of using bio-based plastics to fabricate surgical instruments via 3D printing sustainably, the application of "frugal innovation and engineering” in resource-poor settings, and analyses related to the social returns on investment, barriers to entry, and current and future medical device supply-chain paradigms. In taking a multi-disciplinary approach, the reader can gain a holistic understanding of the multiple facets related to implementing medical device innovations in developing countries.

In this book, Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and a region in the lowest income group per capita, is used to demonstrate the potential for healthcare reorganization and collaboration with the introduction of “successful” technologies centered around available, bio-compatible, and sustainable natural resources. Our book discusses three of the top killers of children under 5 years of age in Nigeria, pneumonia (20%), diarrheal diseases (15%), and traumatic injuries (4%). These conditions are used as examples to demonstrate the potential for improved pediatric outcomes with treatments engineered from sustainable and natural resources. Furthermore, this book outlines possible action items that can help drive economic growth, educational opportunities, collaborative outreach, and workforce productivity to build a healthy and sustainable community. Medical technology in the industrialized world has seen rapid advancements leading to increased survival and greater patient outcomes. However, the development and implementation of these resources is not always applicable to regions in need of new and more basic ways to provide treatment. Moore’s Law, a paradigm that considers advancement synonymous with increased digitization and optimization of electronic processes, defines the history of technology. However, the functionality of advanced and “smart” technology is essentially useless in underdeveloped areas. These regions lack some of the basic requirements for innovative medical technologies to impact human health, such as electricity, access to spare parts, computer analysis tools, and network architecture. In addition, the poor physical infrastructure, insufficient management, and lack of technical culture are barriers for entry and sustainability of these technologies. Rather than importing medical devices from industrialized countries, we propose that the mindset and research focus for under developed areas must be on “successful” technologies. Simply put, these areas need technology that “gets the job done.”

3D Printing in Radiation Oncology: Personalization of Patient Treatment Through Digital Fabrication presents a comprehensive and practical view of the many forms in which 3D printing is being integrated into radiation oncology practice. Radiation oncology employs among the most sophisticated digital technologies in medicine. Until recently, however, the “last mile” of treatment has required manually produced or generic devices for patient set up, positioning, control of surface dose, and delivery of brachytherapy treatment. 3D printing is already offering enhancements in both precision and efficiency through the digital design and fabrication of patient photon and electron bolus, customized surface and gynecological brachytherapy applicators, proton beam compensators and range shifters, patient immobilization, novel radiation detectors, and phantoms. Various innovations are disrupting decades-old practices in radiation therapy (RT) facilities, resulting in vital improvements in personalization of treatment and patient experience. An essential read for radiation oncologists, medical physicists, radiation therapists, oncology nurses, hospital administrators, engineers, and medical educators, this book is an indispensable resource for those bringing 3D printing to the RT clinic, looking to expand the role of 3D printing in their practice, or embarking upon related research and development.

The increasing availability and decreasing costs of 3D printing and bioprinting technologies are expanding opportunities to meet medical needs. 3D Printing and Bioprinting for Pharmaceutical and Medical Applications discusses emerging approaches related to these game-changer technologies in such areas as drug development, medical devices, and bioreactors. Key Features: Offers an overview of applications, the market, and regulatory analysis Analyzes market research of 3D printing and bioprinting technologies Reviews 3D printing of novel pharmaceutical dosage forms for personalized therapies and for medical devices, as well as the benefits of 3D printing for training purposes Covers 3D bioprinting technology, including the design of polymers and decellularized matrices for bio-inks development, elaboration of 3D models for drug evaluation, and 3D bioprinting for musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, central nervous system, ocular, and skin applications Provides risk-benefit analysis of each application Highlights bioreactors, regulatory aspects, frontiers, and challenges This book serves as an ideal reference for students, researchers, and professionals in materials science, bioengineering, the medical industry, and healthcare.

This book focusses on all advanced methods of joining such as friction stir welding, joining by plastic deformation, laser welding, advanced mechanical joining, adhesive bonding and hybrid joining. The volume presents the state-of-the-art of advanced methods of joining and also serves as a reference for researchers and graduate students working in this field. This book gathers selected contributions of the 2nd International Conference on Advanced Joining Processes 2021, held in Sintra, Portugal, on October 21–22, 2021.

Throughout history, humanity has been plagued by a myriad of humanitarian crises that seemingly take the form of perpetual human suffering. Today, approximately 125,000,000 people require humanitarian assistance as the result of famine, war, geopolitical conflict, and natural disasters. A core component of this suffering is afflictions related to human health, where disturbances strain or overwhelm the existing healthcare infrastructure to create the conditions for an increase in morbidities and co-morbidities. One of the more startling elements is the loss of life to preventable medical conditions that were not properly treated or even diagnosed in the field, and is often due to the limited interventional capacity that medical teams and humanitarian practitioners have in these scenarios. These individuals are often hindered by medical equipment deficiencies or devices not meant to function in austere conditions. The development of highly versatile, feasible, and cost-effective medical devices and technologies that can be deployed in the field is essential to enhancing medical care in unconventional settings. In this book we examine the nature of the creative problem-solving paradigm, and dissect the intersection of frugal, disruptive, open, and reverse innovation processes in advancing humanitarian medicine. Specifically, we examine the feasible deployment of these devices and technologies in unconventional environments not only by humanitarian aid and disaster relief agencies, but also by crisis-affected communities themselves. The challenge is complex, but the financial support and technical development of innovative solutions for the delivery of humanitarian aid is a process in which everyone is a stakeholder.

Biomaterials in Food Packaging presents up-to-date research on the applications and development of the packaging materials that originate from biological resources. It discusses the advances made in bioactive, biodegradable, edible films, and nano-based smart materials for food packaging applications that can be a substitute for their synthetic counterparts to enhance the food’s shelf life significantly. It not only encompasses a comprehensive overview of environment-compatible and biodegradable biomaterials but also highlights the recent trends in their applications in food packaging. The book is a valuable reference for researchers, undergraduate and postgraduate students, academicians, educators, industry scientists, and general readers seeking bio-based materials for food packaging applications.

This pioneering Handbook details the origins of the concept of frugal innovation, its emergence as an academic field of interest, and the main driving forces behind it. The book presents new empirical evidence and critical perspectives on what frugal innovation entails, from disciplines such as science and engineering, humanities, and social sciences. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.

Recent advances and technologies in 3D printing have improved and expanded applications for surgery, biomedical engineering, and nanotechnology. In this concise new title, Drs. Georgios Tsoulfas, Petros I. Bangeas, and Jasjit S. Suri synthesize state-of-the-art information on 3D printing and provide guidance on the optimal application in today’s surgical practice, from evaluation of the technology to virtual reality and future opportunities. Discusses challenges, opportunities, and limitations of 3D printing in the field of surgery. Covers patient and surgical education, ethics and intellectual property, quality and safety, 3D printing as it relates to nanotechnology, tissue engineering, virtual augmented reality, and more. Consolidates today’s available information on this burgeoning topic into a single convenient resource.

The sustainability of any process lies in the eco-friendly and economical production of products for applications. Bio-based materials are emerging as raw materials for different products and applications. The book covers cellulose, chitosan, silk, collagen and gelatin bio-based materials. It describes their use in biomedical applications, such as orthopaedic implant, drug delivery, tissue culture, biosensor and engineering applications such as fuel cells, energy storage and packaging. It concludes with the use of bio-based materials as precursors for biorefinery, biolubricants, membranes and adsorbents.