Which term describes the use of additive manufacturing to produce patient-specific medical devices and models?

• A. Interoperability
• B. 3D Printing in Health Care
• C. MPI
• D. Electronic Health Records (EHRs)

Answer: (B)

Additive manufacturing in health care, commonly called 3D printing, builds objects layer by layer from a digital design, allowing customization to a patient’s anatomy. When used in medicine, it enables patient-specific medical devices and models, such as tailored implants, surgical guides, prosthetics, and anatomical replicas for planning and education. This direct link between the technology and individualized anatomy is captured by the term 3D Printing in Health Care. Other terms like interoperability (data exchange), Master Patient Index (identifying patients across systems), or Electronic Health Records (digital patient charts) describe different concepts and don’t convey the manufacturing process.