Last year, a new technology was unveiled that could potentially
enable clinicians to detect real-time chemical changes in the
body. A proof-of-concept sensor array incorporating three types
of sensors would enable the device to measure pH, glucose, and
lactate. Such a device could be used to monitor glucose levels
in diabetics or the microneedles could be incorporated into
sensor arrays that could enable painless patient monitoring of a
variety of parameters. |A hollow microneedle can be integrated
with sensors to detect glucose, lactate, and pH levels. Image
from North Carolina State University.| The microneedle sensors
hints at the medical applications to come in the burgeoning
field of 3D printing. The technology is poised to play an
important role in healthcare in future decades, provided the
numbers of materials it can be used with continues to expand and
the costs of the 3D printing equipment continues to fall. The
manufacturing-related applications are beginning to receive
increasing attention in the b