3D printing has had a presence in themedical industry自1980年代以来的建模o的身体部位therwise untouchable without invasive surgery, but research into the potential of this technology is bringing clinicians closer to getting a good look up close at the real thing.
Instead of scans, what about injecting a camera no bigger than a grain of salt into your patient?
一群德国研究人员一直在研究一个复杂的镜头系统，该系统足够小以适合注射器，并且应用不仅限于医疗行业。They have the potential to also be used in many products which need parts to be as small and light as possible, such asdronesand smartphones.
在如此小的规模上打印并不是一件容易的事，尤其是因为不能在常规3D打印机。科学家斯图加特大学created their miniscule cameras using a femtosecond laser, with pulse durations shorter than 100 femtoseconds (one femtosecond being a quadrillionth of a second). These pulses were fires at a light-sensitive material on a glass substrate. Two photons are then absorbed by the material, and the polymers within then crosslink. Material that wasn’t exposed is ten washed away with a solvent, leaving behind crosslinked, hard polymer material that is then used to form the optical element. This method is said to be a new technique, which allows accuracy up to sub-micrometer levels, making it possible to print optical lens systems more than two lenses. This multi-lens system will possibly allow for more colors to be seen, which in turn increases photo quality.
创建的光学显微镜的直径和高度为125微米，然后连接到5.6英尺的光纤上，两只人毛的宽度。该相机能够专注于远离它的3毫米的图像。由于整个系统很容易拟合到注射器中，因此希望它可以插入器官甚至大脑中。
“从想法，光学设计（CAD模型）到完成的3D打印微观目标的时间将不到一天，”
says Professor哈拉德·吉森（Harald Giessen），来自斯图加特大学的第四个物理研究所。“我们将打开潜力，就像几年前的计算机辅助设计和计算机集成的制造业一样。”
To show how this lens works, it was also printed onto a CMOS image chip, creating a tiny sensor. It is said that the method of manufacture is quick, and these cameras could be used to create drones as small as a bee. The amount of applications for this exciting technology can only increase in the coming years.
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