> Would you print an artificial bone? Artificial body parts?
This is more an anecdote, than an answer, but when I worked at the Rapid Prototyping Center [0] we built 3D prototypes for Johnson & Johnson including a slightly bowed rod with several holes drilled at various angles. After my roommate had an unfortunate skiing accident over winter break, we learned that the production part was milled/cast from titanium and used to repair fractured bones - as visible in his x-ray. The angled holes were used for the screws to mount the rod to the bone [1].
The parts we produced weren't used directly in bodies, but to aid the design and manufacture of parts that were.
This is more an anecdote, than an answer, but when I worked at the Rapid Prototyping Center [0] we built 3D prototypes for Johnson & Johnson including a slightly bowed rod with several holes drilled at various angles. After my roommate had an unfortunate skiing accident over winter break, we learned that the production part was milled/cast from titanium and used to repair fractured bones - as visible in his x-ray. The angled holes were used for the screws to mount the rod to the bone [1].
The parts we produced weren't used directly in bodies, but to aid the design and manufacture of parts that were.
[0] - http://rpc.msoe.edu
[1] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intramedullary_rod