PRINTING PARTS

3D PRINTING HAS BEEN TRANSFORMING THE MEDICAL INDUSTRY, MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO DELIVER TRULY PERSONALISED HEALTHCARE.

-  JOANNE CAREW

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, A PROCESS BETTER I KNOWN AS 3D PRINTING, is transforming the medical industry. making it possible to create anything from prosthetic limbs to medical devices and even parts of organs.

Realising the incredible potential of this technology is what motivated Dr Cherise Dunn, founder and CEO of South Africa Makes, and co-founder Dr Riyad Domingo, to launch the company, which provides 3D-printing services for the medical, dental and research industries in Africa.

We spoke with Dr Dunn about all things 3D printing.

How did South Africa Makes get started?

We launched in 2018, using stereolithography 3D printing to create a number of healthcare solutions: prototypes, in-vitro diagnostic devices, educational models and therapeutic products for researchers and doctors. We really are just here to create a more resilient healthcare supply chain.

I first became interested in this technology while I was working as a cancer researcher. It completely blew my mind to see that it was possible to use stem cells from breast cancer survivors who have had a mastectomy to regrow biological breast tissue, as opposed to getting implants.

Over the years, we haven't tried to reinvent the wheel. We are always going to be a very small team with lean resources, which is why we've partnered with the right people and have leveraged the right tools to do the work we do. We're trying to build an ecosystem, so it's going to take time.

A long way to go for Africa