Topics

The Additive Manufacturing Meets Medicine - AMMM scientific conference was held for the first time in Lübeck in 2019 and subsequently in 2020, 2021 and 2022 as online or hybrid events. From 2023, the AMMM is back as a in-person conference with new program modules including the Additive Summer School for young scientists.

Additive manufacturing, often referred to as 3D printing, has long since proven its suitability for everyday use. However, many questions remain unanswered for use in medicine. Complex melting and hardening processes take place during the layer-by-layer construction of medical devices from liquid or solid materials, the physical-chemical modelling of which is often still pending, so that a discussion forum is to be given at AMMM on topics relating to the achievable precision and the expected technical properties of the medical devices produced in this way.

Questions about the precision and interaction of the printed materials with their future application matrix are important for all industries. However, these requirements are of particular interest in the medical environment, where biological compatibility and long-term stability are of particular importance. Medical technology companies are also faced with the question of whether this modern manufacturing technology should only be used in prototype and individualized sample development or also in series production. Costs and benefits have to be assessed very individually.

AMMM focuses on these questions, with particular emphasis on the medical device regulation of patient-specific devices. Also this year, due to the topicality and the broad discussion of the use of additive manufacturing for protective and therapeutic devices in the fight against corona, we want to take this into account and add a special focus on the validation of Anti-Corona Aids and Devices.

Topics of the AMMM conference include, but are not limited to:

• Anti-corona aids and devices

as well as

• Application fields in various body regions: Hard tissue (cranium, extremities, thorax, etc.); soft tissue (brain, heart, liver, kidney, lung, skin, vessels, etc.);
• With foci on diagnostics and therapy in internal medicine, ophthalmology, neo and prenatal medicine, dentistry, nuclear medicine, maxillofacial surgery, oncology, orthopedics, pediatrics, etc;
• Rehabilitation, veterinarian medicine, cosmetic medicine, medical education and training as well as forensic medicine;
• Special emphasis is also given to personalized medicine with applications in endoprothetics, exoprothetics, special aids (e.g. hearing aids), implants, etc;
• Novel drug delivery systems for controlled release of pharmaceutical active ingredients (API)

Besides medical case studies, dedicated technology is in the focus of the conference:

• Print model design: Construction/structural design, data preprocessing, data extraction
• Printing technologies: Bioprinting (cell printing), stereolithografie (SL), laser sinter (LS), laser-beam melting (LBM), electron-beam melting (EBM), fused layer modelling/manufacturing (FLM);
• Technology development: New printing techniques, new print materials, printing technique improvement, precision improvement, sterilized printing, postprocessing techniques;
• Material science: Biocompatibility, material properties, soft and elastic medical devices.

In view of all the point above, emphasis is given to

• Medical device regulation of patient-specific devices