The University of Pretoria’s (UP) Forensic Anthropology Research Centre (FARC) is setting up a comprehensive facility to help other departments in the University’s Faculty of Health Sciences with the 3D-printing of replicas of bones and organs, such as brains, hearts and livers.

This is being done to improve healthcare, research methods and the teaching of students; there are also plans to collaborate with other faculties.

“Three-dimensional printing offers several advantages, such as visualisation and tactile opportunities, allowing us to assist colleagues in the fields of orthopaedic surgery and prosthodontics with their research, particularly their need to use 3D-imaging and 3D-printing in their medical practices,” said Professor Ericka L’Abbé, a Professor of Biological Anthropology and Director of the FARC.

“Dr Alison Ridel, a postdoctoral researcher at FARC, is collaborating with Dr Alwyn Fortuin of the Department of Prosthodontics on digital methods to reconstruct a face before and after tumour resection,” Prof L’Abbé added. “She will assist the surgeon with processing the patient’s 3D cone-beam computed tomography [CT] data before and after surgery to provide 3D prints of their faces, so that Dr Fortuin can visualise the surgical procedure and explain it to the patient.

Professor Ericka L’Abbé holds a 3D print of a trauma skull from the Bakeng se Afrika trauma workshop. 

“In the case of body structures, it is much easier to visualise structures and make informed decisions based on a physical object than a flat image. By adding the third dimension for the purposes of teaching and the treatment of patients, we can harness valuable additional information to enhance outcomes.”

Prof L’Abbé’s team can also use a CT scan to make a 3D mesh of a patient’s soft or hard tissue, which can be 3D-printed and used by the surgeon in their pre-operative planning.

“Students use loose teeth to study,” Marius Loots, first technical operator, said. “Although they look similar, all teeth are different. Typical teeth are used to teach dental morphology, but this could differ from what the student has in front of them. By printing a standard set of teeth, it allows the student to master the typical structure, then apply the knowledge on real teeth.”

Additionally, 3D-printing can be used in forensic anthropology. “We have a collection of various types of trauma on bone, like gunshot wounds and blunt force trauma,” said Loots. “By making prints, we not only save the original skeletal element from destruction by use, but also avoid getting entangled in ethical debates.”