The Mayo Clinic: a beacon for meaningful 3D printing applications

At the recent Materialise World Summit (MWS) event in Belgium, one presentation across the packed two-day program stood out as a singularly impressive example of the normalization of 3D printing and additive manufacturing (AM).

The last decade has seen an increasing number of medical applications for 3D printing and AM, with many examples of medical and surgical procedures for improved patient outcomes around the world. An MWS keynote address given by Dr. Jonathan (Jay) Morris examined how 3D printing technology has made a significant and permanent impact on the daily clinical and surgical practices of the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. Dr. Morris referenced many cases where 3D printing has made a real difference, both in the approach to a case by the medical staff and to the outcome for the patient.

The USA-based Mayo Clinic operates across three main facilities in: Rochester, Minnesota; Phoenix, Arizona; and Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Morris works at the Minnesota facility.

The organization’s mission is ‘to inspire hope and contribute to health and well-being by providing the best care to every patient through integrated clinical practice, education and research,’ and this was much in evidence in this presentation.