3D printing being developed at the University of Tartu will help treat diseases better in the future

The 3D printing technology of drugs is being developed at the Institute of Pharmacy of the University of Tartu. The purpose of that is to better prevent, diagnose and treat diseases.

Kristjan Olado, a junior lecturer in pharmaceutical technology at the University of Tartu, said that the production technologies used in the pharmaceutical industry, such as tableting, are not intended for the creation of small-scale personalized drug batches. Therefore, one of the goals of pharmaceutical scientists is to introduce new, more flexible production methods.

One possible new method is three-dimensional or 3D printing of tablets. 3D printing started in the 1980s and has also been used in cardiology, dentistry, plastic surgery and bioprinting. In recent years, 3D printing has also entered the medical field. "The computer-designed model is built layer by layer into the desired object. Depending on how the layer is added, 3D printing is divided into different methods. In 2015, Spritam, the first 3D printed drug, was approved for sale."

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