Laser sintering of metallic medical materials — a review

In the era of personalized medicine, three-dimensional (3D) printing is becoming an attractive process to manufacture bespoke medical devices for individual patients. However, 3D printing is in its initial stages of development and caution must be exercised before placing devices inside the body prior to exhaustive testing. This paper explores the current knowledge of 3D printing of materials that can be used inside and external to the body for the purposes of enhancing the quality of life. The paper explains the types of materials used for medical devices and their associated benefits. The paper then explains how advances in the laser sintering of medical materials are starting to benefit patients in improving their quality of life and concludes with statements associated with further works that need to be accomplished in order to make 3D printing the first choice process for producing personalized medical devices.