3-D printing helps treat woman with spinal condition

Clinicians recently used 3D printing to help treat a woman with a degenerative condition of the spinal column.

Standard spinal cord stimulation could not be performed on the patient due to her spinal anatomy. By using 3D printing techniques to create a model of the patient's lower spine, the investigators were able to find a way to successfully insert a catheter to achieve spinal cord stimulation.

"3D printing may provide additional information to improve the likelihood of access when anatomy is distorted and standard approaches prove difficult," wrote the authors of the Neuromodulation report.