Advancement of 3D Printing in Healthcare and Its Impact on Sustainability

3D printing is transforming healthcare through personalised devices, surgical precision and faster prototyping while advancing sustainability. On-demand production reduces waste, supports circular economy models and lowers carbon footprints by minimising transport and inventory. Despite its promise, challenges remain, including regulatory gaps, cost barriers, material limits, cybersecurity risks and skill shortages. Overcoming these hurdles could unlock more efficient, sustainable and accessible care.

Key Points

• 3D printing enables personalised medical devices and surgical precision.
• On-demand production reduces waste and lowers carbon emissions.
• Circular economy models recycle hospital plastic into printing materials.
• High costs, material limits and regulatory gaps hinder wider adoption.
• Skill shortages and cybersecurity risks remain key implementation barriers.

The healthcare sector is undergoing a profound transformation, partially driven by the rapid advancements in 3D printing, also known as Additive Manufacturing (AM). This article provides an examination of the current state of 3D printing in healthcare, detailing its diverse applications, the paradigm shift introduced by Design for Additive Manufacturing and the technology's profound impact on fostering sustainable healthcare practices, particularly through waste reduction, circular economy principles and the provision of precision medical devices.

The article also addresses the significant challenges hindering widespread adoption, including regulatory complexities, intellectual property concerns, cybersecurity risks, material limitations, cost barriers and the critical skill gap. Ultimately, it is offering a forward-looking perspective on how to overcome these impediments, accelerate the integration of 3D printing and fully unleash its potential to create a more personalised, efficient and environmentally responsible healthcare future.

Introduction: Reshaping Healthcare with Additive Manufacturing

The modern healthcare landscape is experiencing a profound revolution, propelled by the groundbreaking advancements in 3D printing technology. Unlike traditional subtractive manufacturing methods that remove material from a larger block, AM constructs three-dimensional objects layer by layer from digital models, offering unprecedented design freedom and material efficiency (Greenwood 2024). This fundamental difference has positioned 3D printing as a paradigm-shifting technology with the capacity to redefine patient care, surgical techniques and the development of medical devices and pharmaceutics.

The historical trajectory of 3D printing in medicine traces back to the 1980s. Early, significant medical applications emerged with the 3D-printed synthetic human bladder in 1999, followed by the landmark FDA approval of the first 3D-printed drug, Spritam, in 2015 (Greenwood 2024). These pioneering achievements underscored the technology's immense potential to disrupt healthcare industry.

The integration of 3D printing into healthcare represents a fundamental shift toward more personalised, efficient and accessible medical care. This transformation is particularly vital in addressing pressing challenges in modern healthcare, such as the escalating demand for highly customised medical solutions, increasing cost pressures on healthcare systems and the urgent global need for more sustainable practices, all of them part of the strategic actions towards sustainability (Avanija 2025). Sustainable healthcare, defined as a holistic approach which encompasses products, services and healthcare operations with superior environmental performance, without compromising with the quality level of the care itself, balancing current and future health needs with environmental limits to ensure a healthier planet for future generations, finds a pivotal ally in 3D printing.

The Current Landscape of 3D Printing in Healthcare

Where We Are Today: A Snapshot of Advancements

The medical 3D printing market is experiencing unprecedented and rapid expansion. Projections indicate a robust growth from $2 billion (€1.8 billion) in 2022 to $4 billion (€3.6 billion) by 2026, representing a 21% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) (Jaycon 2025). The broader 3D printed medical device market is anticipated to reach an impressive $16.5 billion (€14.9 billion) in revenues by 2034 (Saunders 2025). The dental 3D printing market alone has demonstrated significant maturity and growth, surpassing $3 billion (€2.7 billion) in 2023 and continuing to expand at over 20% annually (Jaycon 2025). The increasing trend of healthcare providers establishing in-house 3D printing facilities further underscores this rapid adoption, with the number of hospitals maintaining such capabilities growing significantly from just three in 2010 to 113 in 2019 (AHA n. d.).

Key applications are transforming patient care across various medical specialties. In Implants and Prosthetics, patient-specific implants, particularly in orthopaedics and dentistry, were among the earliest and most impactful medically approved uses of 3D technology (Cong et al. 2025). Anatomical Models and Surgical Guides represent another critical application. 3D printers can produce highly accurate and detailed anatomical models, invaluable for assisting surgeons in preparing for complex procedures. This leads to increased surgical precision, reduced operative times (eg a mean reduction of 62 minutes, resulting in a cost savings of $3,720 (€3,350) per case) and improved patient outcomes (AHA n. d.). In Pharmaceuticals, the pharmaceutical industry is leveraging 3D printing techniques to manufacture complex, personalised drug delivery systems with controlled release profiles (Greenwood 2024).

The technology also enables rapid prototyping and production of Custom Tools and Devices, enhancing surgical accuracy and perfectly optimised tools for procedures (Anyshape n. d.). Bioprinting, a cutting-edge 3D printing technique, systematically deposits bioink – liquids or gels containing living cells and growth factors – in an organised manner that mimics natural anatomical shapes. The goal is to enable the production of bioartificial organs or patient-specific living tissues on demand, offering a groundbreaking alternative to address the critical scarcity of donor organs (Greenwood 2024). Recent breakthroughs include the introduction of elastic hydrogel materials for soft living tissue like blood vessels, and cellulose-based inks showing versatility in drug discovery and regenerative medicine (Bedi 2025).

The integration of AI-Powered Advancements with 3D printing is yielding remarkable improvements across healthcare, enhancing design, personalisation and operational efficiency (Jaycon 2025). AI-driven innovation in 3D-printed vascular tissues, for instance, has improved graft success rates and durability by as much as 35% (ibid). AI also plays a vital role in designing novel medical devices, automating manufacturing processes to reduce human intervention and errors, aiding in predictive analytics for error detection and enhancing quality assurance by validating designs for print suitability (Towards Healthcare 2025).

The rise of Point-of-Care (POC) 3D printing facilities in hospitals marks a significant trend towards decentralised manufacturing. This move is driven by the ability to create patient-specific solutions directly within the hospital setting, which not only improves surgical outcomes but also cuts costs and reduces turnaround times by eliminating reliance on external providers (Jaycon 2025). The increasing accessibility and affordability of 3D printing, combined with its ability to create patient-specific solutions on-demand, enables a shift from centralised, large-scale manufacturing to decentralised, point-of-care production. It has profound implications for improving healthcare accessibility, particularly for underserved populations and enhancing the resilience of medical supply chains during crises by enabling rapid, local production.

Design for Additive Manufacturing: A Paradigm Shift

Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) is a specialised methodology comprising a collection of rules and best practices that designers and engineers must adhere to for achieving optimal success in 3D-printed part designs. DfAM systematically incorporates critical considerations throughout the design process, including the chosen printing technology, the part's geometry, the specific materials to be used and any required post-processing steps to enhance strength or surface finish (Protolabs n. d.).

A key differentiator of DfAM is its ability to transcend the traditional design constraints inherent in conventional manufacturing methods like milling, casting, or forging. This "shape freedom" opens entirely new possibilities for creating highly complex geometries and enabling true mass customisation at commercially viable costs, which were previously unfeasible (Renishaw n. d.). DfAM significantly facilitates part consolidation, a major benefit for medical device manufacturers (ibid). Lightweighting is greatly enhanced by DfAM, as it enables the creation of lighter, stronger and more efficient designs through techniques like topology optimisation and the incorporation of special internal structures (eg lattices). These designs can maintain crucial specifications like strength and stiffness while significantly reducing overall weight by using less material (Protolabs n. d.).

The Impact on Sustainable Healthcare

The integration of 3D printing into healthcare extends beyond clinical benefits, offering significant potential to advance sustainable practices. This impact is multifaceted, encompassing waste reduction, the promotion of circular economy principles, the provision of durable precision devices and enhanced energy efficiency.

Waste Reduction and Resource Efficiency

3D printing’s ability to enable on-demand production and localised manufacturing significantly minimises the need for large, centralised inventories and reduces the volume of transportation packaging (Sustainability Directory 2025). By storing designs as digital files rather than physical products, healthcare facilities can eliminate waste from items that expire, become obsolete or are damaged during storage (ibid). Point-of-care (POC) printing, in particular, directly reduces sterile packaging waste associated with the transport and storage of conventional devices (ibid). Furthermore, the precision and customisation afforded by 3D printing lead to better patient outcomes. For instance, patient-specific surgical guides can reduce surgical time and complications (AHA n. d.). By ensuring a perfect fit and function for devices like orthopaedic implants or dental prosthetics, 3D printing indirectly reduces waste associated with failed procedures or ill-fitting devices that would otherwise require multiple attempts or replacements (Sustainability Directory 2025).

Advancing Circular Economy Principles

The concept of integrating circular economy principles into medical 3D printing is gaining momentum. A study demonstrated the feasibility of collecting plastic waste (eg high-density polyethylene (HDPE) water bottle caps from hospitals), shredding, extruding and spooling it into functional 3D printing filaments. This process not only showed significant economic savings compared to commercial options but also resulted in a notable reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The approach directly addresses the growing stream of plastic waste generated by customised, often single-use, 3D-printed medical devices, positioning 3D printing at the intersection of innovation and environmental sustainability (Jreije et al. 2025).

Despite these advancements, challenges remain. Many currently used polymers and resins in 3D printing are non-biodegradable, contributing to long-term environmental concerns (Avanija 2025). Therefore, the development of proper disposal and recycling strategies specifically for 3D-printed medical devices is still an ongoing and critical need (ibid). Paradoxically, the very strength of 3D printing: its ability to create highly customised, patient-specific devices, leads to a new waste challenge. The unique nature of these devices often precludes traditional sterilisation and reuse, making them single use by design, thus generating a new category of medical plastic waste (Jreije et al. 2025). This highlights a critical challenge for achieving comprehensive sustainability.

Precision Prosthetics and Tools: A Sustainable Alternative

3D printing enables the creation of hyper-customised prosthetics that are precisely adapted to an individual patient's anatomy (Quadra 2024). This ensures a snug and secure fit, significantly reducing common issues like pressure sores, skin irritation and improper gait mechanics (ibid). While many 3D-printed items, such as surgical guides or boluses for radiotherapy, are designed for single-use due to patient-specific customisation and contamination risks(Jreije et al. 2025), the technology's core capability to create durable, patient-specific prosthetics and tools offers a sustainable alternative to the high volumes of generic, often ill-fitting, single-use items (Avanija 2025). The rapid prototyping and modification capabilities inherent in 3D printing reduce the need for multiple design iterations and associated material waste (Quadra 2024).

Energy Efficiency and Reduced Carbon Footprint

3D printing is recognised for its energy efficiency, particularly in small-scale applications, as it generally operates at lower temperatures and consumes less power compared to energy-intensive conventional production techniques (Avanija 2025). However, it is important to note that large-scale additive manufacturing production can still require significant energy (ibid). The ability for healthcare facilities to produce medical tools and implants on-site significantly reduces the need for long-distance transportation of supplies. This directly translates to a substantial reduction in transportation-related pollution and lowers the overall carbon footprint associated with the manufacturing and distribution of medical products (ibid).

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies, which evaluate environmental impacts across a product's entire lifespan, have shown that 3D printing can provide tangible environmental benefits compared to traditional manufacturing methods (Bahr 2024). These assessments consider factors such as energy use, material consumption and emissions from raw material acquisition through manufacturing, use and end-of-life disposal (ibid). The adoption of sustainable materials and the use of in-situ process monitoring and closed-loop control further enhance AM's potential to advance sustainability by improving process reliability and reducing energy consumption and failure rates (Su et al. 2024).

The economic and environmental benefits of 3D printing are often intertwined. The technology is touted for its cost-effectiveness, reducing material waste, enabling faster prototyping and lowering inventory costs compared to traditional manufacturing (Ortis et al. 2025). A specific study on recycling hospital plastic waste into 3D printing filaments explicitly found cost savings from in-house filament production compared to commercial options alongside a notable reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (Mansour et al. 2025). This demonstrates a direct, quantifiable link where environmentally responsible practices (waste reduction, material reuse, lower carbon footprint) simultaneously yield significant economic advantages (cost savings). The investment in sustainable processes is not just an ethical choice but a financially prudent one. This dual benefit – environmental stewardship coupled with economic efficiency, – can serve as a powerful accelerator for the widespread adoption of sustainable 3D printing practices in healthcare. It provides a compelling business case for healthcare institutions and manufacturers to prioritise and invest in green initiatives, as these efforts directly contribute to both their sustainability goals and their bottom line.

Overcoming Challenges and Accelerating Adoption

Despite the transformative potential of 3D printing in healthcare, several significant challenges must be addressed to ensure its widespread and effective adoption. These include navigating complex regulatory frameworks, addressing data security and intellectual property concerns, overcoming material and cost barriers and bridging the existing skill gap. Overcoming these challenges is crucial for fully realising 3D printing's potential to contribute to sustainable healthcare.

Navigating the Regulatory Landscape

The regulatory environment for 3D-printed medical devices is overseen by key bodies such as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and its Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) (Lee 2025). The FDA, for instance, regulates the manufacturing process and the final output of 3D printers if it constitutes a medical device, categorising products based on risk levels (Talkington 2022). ISO 13485 specifies comprehensive requirements for quality management systems in medical device production, including those utilising 3D printing (Anyshape n. d.).

A significant hurdle is the continually evolving and often incomplete or non-existent regulatory guidelines for specific medical applications of 3D printing, particularly for point-of-care (POC) manufacturing within hospitals (Talkington 2022). This ambiguity creates substantial uncertainty regarding which parties are responsible for ensuring compliance, their legal liability and what specific regulatory obligations apply when healthcare facilities produce devices under various scenarios (ibid). This lack of clarity can hinder the adoption of sustainable practices, such as in-house recycling or localised production, due to legal and compliance uncertainties (Lee 2025).

Addressing Data Sharing, Intellectual Property and Cybersecurity

The digital nature of 3D printing makes intellectual property (IP) highly vulnerable. CAD files, material selections and build configurations represent valuable trade secrets that can be easily copied, shared, or reverse-engineered by unauthorised parties, leading to patent, trademark and copyright infringement (Banks 2025). The ease of unauthorised reproduction poses significant legal challenges for IP holders (ibid).

As 3D printing systems become increasingly connected within manufacturing ecosystems, they become susceptible to a range of cybersecurity threats. These include network intrusions, unauthorised firmware tampering (which could lead to failed prints or functional sabotage) and data overcollection (Long 2024). A particularly concerning risk in healthcare is the potential for cybercriminals to implement intentional defects into 3D-printed products (eg altering print orientation to reduce strength by up to 25%) or even to hack into printers to alter drug formulas, with potentially life-threatening consequences (ibid). Compliance with data privacy regulations like GDPR necessitates robust safeguards for sensitive patient data (Shafner 2025). These cybersecurity risks can undermine the trust and reliability necessary for widespread adoption, including the implementation of sustainable, digitally-driven workflows.

Material Limitations and Cost Barriers

A significant limitation for widespread adoption is the currently restricted range of suitable biocompatible materials (polymers, metals, ceramics and bio-inks) for medical 3D printing (Healthie n. d.). For instance, common titanium alloys (eg Ti6Al4V) used in implants are much stiffer (110 GPa) than natural bone (10-30 GPa), which can lead to adverse stress shielding effects (China 3D Printing 2025). Furthermore, for bioprinting complex organs, finding the right combination of natural and synthetic polymers for bioinks that mimic native tissues' complexity and functionality remains a difficult and expensive endeavour (Arellano 2022). The limited availability of truly biodegradable and recyclable medical-grade materials also poses a direct challenge to achieving comprehensive sustainability goals in 3D printing (Avanija 2025).

The upfront cost of acquiring advanced 3D printers, particularly industrial-grade systems, and the ongoing expense of specialised medical-grade materials (eg Ti6Al4V powder costing 240 Euro/kg) can be substantial (China 3D Printing 2025). High equipment maintenance expenses (eg over 60,000 Euro per year) further contribute to the overall financial burden, making the technology too expensive for many healthcare facilities to adopt independently (ibid). The significant gap between the actual operating expenses of in-house 3D printing programmes and the amounts reimbursed by insurance payers severely limits their financial viability and scalability (Munteanu 2024). These cost barriers directly hinder the adoption of 3D printing solutions that could otherwise drive significant sustainability improvements.

Bridging the Skill Gap and Fostering Widespread Adoption

Implementing and operating 3D printing services in a healthcare setting requires a highly specialised and multidisciplinary skillset. Personnel need expertise in medical imaging, anatomy/pathology for accurate segmentation, engineering skills for 3D model preparation and a deep understanding of 3D printing hardware and software (Munteanu 2024). The challenge lies in finding enough professionals who possess this unique blend of 3D technology and medical domain knowledge (ibid). This skill gap can slow down the efficient and sustainable integration of 3D printing into clinical workflows. More critically, widespread clinical adoption is hampered by the need for more robust clinical trial data, particularly studies with larger sample sizes and long-term evaluations, to conclusively demonstrate reliability, safety and efficacy and to address existing reliability concerns (ibid). Healthcare institutions must strategically define the ideal scale for their 3D printing programmes (departmental vs. institutional) and implement solutions that manage the entire workflow. Ensuring traceability of models (eg pre-labelling with requisition numbers linked to medical records) is crucial for patient safety and quality control (Pietila 2015).

Conclusion

The advance of 3D printing in the healthcare sector represents a profound technological and operational revolution, offering unparalleled opportunities for personalised medicine and sustainable practices. The inherent additive nature, coupled with localised production capabilities, offers substantial environmental benefits through waste reduction, minimised inventory and a lower carbon footprint, laying the groundwork for a truly circular economy in healthcare.

However, the path to widespread adoption is not without significant hurdles. Regulatory ambiguities, particularly concerning point-of-care manufacturing and reimbursement, create financial and legal uncertainty. The digital nature of 3D printing introduces complex challenges related to intellectual property protection and cybersecurity, demanding robust data security protocols. Material limitations, especially in developing biocompatible and truly sustainable materials with ideal mechanical properties, and the high initial investment costs of equipment remain substantial barriers. Finally, a critical skill gap exists, necessitating specialised training for healthcare professionals in both medical and additive manufacturing domains, alongside the need for more extensive clinical trial data to validate long-term efficacy and safety.

To overcome these challenges and accelerate the integration of 3D printing into mainstream healthcare, several key actions are imperative:

1. Harmonise and Clarify Regulatory Frameworks: Regulatory bodies must collaborate internationally to develop clear, comprehensive and adaptable guidelines that address the unique aspects of 3D-printed medical devices, especially for point-of-care manufacturing. This includes defining responsibilities, liabilities and pathways for device approval and post-market surveillance, thereby enabling more sustainable localised production and material reuse.
2. Establish Robust Reimbursement Policies/New Business Models: Healthcare payers and policymakers must work with providers to create fair and consistent reimbursement codes that accurately reflect the costs and value of 3D-printed medical devices and services. This financial clarity is crucial for incentivising investment and scaling in-house printing capabilities, which are key to sustainable healthcare. Healthcare industry also needs to explore new viable business models that enables and caters sustainably to the shift from centralised, large-scale manufacturing to decentralised, point-of-care production.
3. Strengthen Cybersecurity and IP Protection: Implement industry-wide best practices for cybersecurity, including network segmentation, strong authentication and encryption, to safeguard sensitive patient data and intellectual property. Legal frameworks must also evolve to effectively protect digital designs and address unauthorised reproduction, ensuring the integrity of sustainable digital workflows.
4. Invest in Sustainable Material Research and Circular Economy Models: Prioritise research and development into novel biocompatible, biodegradable and recyclable materials tailored for medical applications. Simultaneously, develop and implement closed-loop recycling and reuse strategies for 3D-printed medical waste, transforming single-use items into valuable resources and fully realising the circular economy in healthcare.
5. Bridge the Skill Gap through Education and Training: Develop standardised curricula and training programmes that equip medical professionals, engineers and technicians with the interdisciplinary skills required for medical 3D printing, from imaging and design to printing operations and quality control.
6. Expand Clinical Evidence and Standardisation: Conduct more large-scale, long-term clinical trials to generate robust data on the safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness of 3D-printed medical devices. This evidence is vital for building clinician confidence, informing regulatory decisions and driving broader adoption of solutions that offer long-term sustainability benefits.
7. Foster Collaboration and Digital Integration: Encourage greater collaboration between healthcare institutions, technology providers, material scientists and regulatory bodies. Invest in integrated digital platforms that streamline workflows from patient imaging to design, printing and post-processing, ensuring seamless data flow and traceability, which are essential for efficient and sustainable operations.

By strategically addressing these areas, the healthcare sector can fully harness the transformative power of 3D printing, leading to a future where medical care is not only more personalised and effective but also fundamentally more sustainable and accessible for all.

Conflict of Interest

None.