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Three-dimensional (3D) printing adoption in healthcare: assessment in the context of mallet injury in the Irish healthcare system
Date
2025
Abstract
In recent years, the adoption of 3D printing for creating custom items in healthcare has been gaining momentum. The capabilities of 3D printing coupled with a growing focus on personalised patient care create opportunities for custom care in areas where standard treatments were once offered. One area whereby 3D printing is being used in providing personalised solutions is orthopaedics. The use of 3D printing within healthcare in Ireland is in its infancy, compared to other countries. Areas in Ireland do exist where 3D printing is used to solve clinical needs, although there are geographical disparities. A research gap exists concerning why 3D printing has not been widely adopted within the Irish healthcare system. Five studies were conducted, using mixed methods. As the speciality of orthopaedics is most advanced in adopting 3D printing, a safe, clinical injury was sought to utilise 3D printing technology as a basis for the thesis. The area chosen was mallet injury, a low risk but common injury.
A scoping review was firstly conducted to explore the literature related to the use of 3D printing and mallet injury as this would be a test application of 3D printing for this research. Of 10 included studies, only one tested a 3D printed mallet splint on an injured patient (n=1). The majority of the published literature on this topic were feasibility studies conducted on healthy volunteers.
Current treatment process for mallet injury in Ireland was then detailed through a national survey. The results detail Stack splints are the most used orthoses with some units offering custom splinting. The respondents surveyed reported an openness to using 3D printing.
A research gap was identified regarding the use of 3D printing for the provision of personalised mallet injury treatment. A pilot clinical study was conducted. Of the 10 patients included, 8 had a full recovery. Nine patients reported they would choose the 3D printed orthosis if needed again. Patient and healthcare professional acceptance signified a clinical advantage to using the 3D printed orthoses.
A national interview study explored healthcare professionals' opinions on the barriers and opportunities for 3D printing in healthcare in Ireland. Three main themes were identified: Theme 1: Needs within the health service that could be supported by 3D printing, Theme 2: Barriers to adoption of 3D printing in the healthcare service, and Theme 3: Opportunities to support the adoption of 3D printing use in healthcare. Research is needed to address these barriers, ensuring that patients within healthcare systems have the same opportunities to receive custom care.
A remaining research question related to the role of introductory education and awareness of this technology in healthcare. A pre-post study using a short educational video demonstrated that a brief introduction to the technology increased perceptual factors which may be related to the initial phase of adoption of such technology.
This thesis presents the literature relating to the technology acceptance of 3D printing within Ireland. The barriers to the adoption of 3D printing within healthcare facilities leading to low adoption are also presented, along with suggestions for solutions to overcome those barriers
Supervisor
O'Sullivan, Leonard
Cummins, Niamh
O'Sullivan, Aidan
Cummins, Niamh
O'Sullivan, Aidan
Description
Publisher
University of Limerick
Citation
Collections
Files
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Cronin_2025_Three.pdf
Adobe PDF, 8.33 MB
Funding code
Funding Information
Sustainable Development Goals
Type
Thesis
Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/