Medical 3D printing - an example of the speed of change
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The idea of the 3D printer is now becoming familiar, and home kits are available for hobbyists and entrepreneurs who have $350 to $2,000 to spend for printing out projects and prototypes on their kitchen tables. The Wikipedia article on 3D printing is particularly useful when prices are changing and applications are expanding rapidly, because Wikipedia articles are constantly being updated by enthusiasts.
The applications are apparently infinite:
- Improved automotive parts (because the additive manufacturing process allows the creation of lighter components with better interior shapes for maximizing oil flows and allowing more rapid gear changes)
- Innovative jewelry
- Designer running shoes shaped from a scan of your feet
But the most amazing applications are coming in the medical field, where companies like Organovo are using bioprinting to build:
- Replacement bones
- Skin and blood vessels—created from tiny bioink droplets, each containing tens of thousands of living cells
The technique relies on the cells’ self-organizing abilities to create living tissue within the framework laid down by the printer.
Full organ replacement—starting with kidneys—is on the horizon.
The future use of the patient’s own stem cells is expected to dramatically reduce the risk of transplant rejection.
All this is another reminder that the world is changing ever faster.
Disruptive technologies are everywhere.
Within a business, this highlights the need for:
- Flexibility of thinking
- Rapid and accurate flow of information
- A big-picture understanding of how the business and the industry operates
And the changes will be even faster and more numerous next year—and even more so the year after.
For better or worse, technological change will never slow down again—it will only speed up.
For agile businesses and managers with a high level of business acumen, this is pure opportunity.
For others, it is fatal.
