3D printing artificial organs, Dr Antonia Pontiki
Recorded at Ada Lovelace Day Live at the Royal Institution on 10 October 2023
Note: This talk contains graphic medical images.
3D printing shows great potential not just for customised healthcare solutions but also for prototyping and research. It is already being used to manufacture equipment, develop anatomical models for medical education, surgical planning and training, create prostheses and 3D bio-print tissues and organs. Studies have reported that the benefits of using 3D printing in healthcare include the education of patients by explaining their pathology, customised medical instruments, improved surgical planning leading to higher precision during surgery, and reduced intraoperative bleeding and operating time.
About Dr Antonia Pontiki
Dr Antonia Pontiki is a teaching fellow in biomedical engineering at King’s College London. Antonia teaches undergraduate courses and is also a researcher in the Department of Surgical & Intervention Engineering. Her research interests include chest wall reconstruction for cancer patients, 3D printing, artificial organs, biocompatible materials, and surgical simulators.
Antonia completed her PhD at King’s College London in 2022 where she investigated the use of 3D printing in thoracic surgery. She is currently working with undergraduate and postgraduate students on the development of surgical simulators for training and practising surgical interventions, including chest wall, urological and head & neck simulators, in an effort to address the ethical and financial implications of using animals or cadavers in medical education.
About Ada Lovelace Day
Ada Lovelace Day is an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths which aims to increase the profile of women in STEM and create new role models for both girls and women studying or working in STEM.
Ada Lovelace Day Live 2023 was held at the Royal Institution on Tuesday 10 October. It was hosted by comedian Helen Arney, and featured Prof Jennifer Rohn, head of the Centre for Urological Biology UCL; Dr Azza Eltraify, senior software engineer at Ultracell Networks Ltd; Dr Sophie Carr, mathematician, Bays Consulting Ltd; Dr Aarathi Prasad, writer, broadcaster, and geneticist; Dr Anjana Khatwa, Earth scientist and presenter; Dr Antonia Pontiki, biomedical engineer at King’s College London; and Rosie Curran Crawley, presenter at L’Oreal Young Scientist Centre.
About the Royal Institution
The Royal Institution brings the public and scientists together to share their interest and passion for science, empowering people to explore and get involved.
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