The use of rapid prototyping to assist medical applications

Purpose - This paper aims to illustrate a number of instances where RP and associated technology has been successfully used for medical applications.Design methodology approach - A number of medical case studies are presented, illustrating different uses of RP technology. These studies have been analysed in terms of how the technology has been applied in order to solve related medical problems.Findings - It was found that RP has been helpful in a number of ways to solve medical problems. However, the technology has numerous limitations that have been analysed in order to establish how the technology should develop in the future.Practical implications - RP can help solve medical problems, but must evolve if it is to be used more widespread in this field.Originality value - This paper has shown a number of new applications for RP, providing a holistic understanding how the technology can solve medical problems. It also identifies a number of ways in which the technology can improve in order to better solve such problems.