Three professors in UC San Francisco School of Medicine's orthopedic surgery department founded EDGE Labs to make 3D printing more accessible.
Here are four things to know:
1. EDGE Labs established onsite 3D printing at:
- UCSF Hellen Diller Medical Center at Parnassus Heights
- UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay
- Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center
- San Francisco VA Medical Center.
2. Spine surgeon Alan Dang, MD, as well as orthopedic surgeons Alexis Dang, MD, and Aenor Sawyer, MD, founded EDGE Labs.
3. UCSF School of Medicine awarded a grant to create the Center for Advanced 3D+ Technologies. Comprised of EDGE Labs and UCSF's pediatric cardiology and radiology departments the center focuses on 3D printing as well as virtual and augmented reality.
4. Dr. Alan Dang is currently using 3D printing to produce PEEK spinal implant prototypes. Sigurd Berven, MD, Safa Herfat, PhD, and Dr. Sawyer are also prototyping spinal implants at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.
"In the next couple of years, I think we will see an explosion in UCSF-designed medical devices," said Dr. Alexis Dang, "thanks to the benefits of 3D printing."