Application of 3D printing in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers: current status and new insights

Xinrui Li; Xin Ai; Bo Wang; Mengqian Luo; Akira Miyamoto; Mohammad Shafi Kuchay; Dechao Feng; Chi Zhang

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2024.1475885

Application of 3D printing in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers: current status and new insights

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2024 Nov 13:12:1475885. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1475885. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Xinrui Li^#¹, Xin Ai^#¹, Bo Wang^#¹, Mengqian Luo¹, Akira Miyamoto², Mohammad Shafi Kuchay³, Dechao Feng^{4

5}, Chi Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rehabilitation, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.
² Department of Nishikyushu University Faculty of Rehabilitation, Fukuoka, Japan.
³ Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Medanta the Medicity Hospital, Haryana, India.
⁴ Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
⁵ Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London, United Kingdom.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background and aims: Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a serious complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), affecting around 25% of individuals with DM. Primary treatment of a DFU involves wound off-loading, surgical debridement, dressings to provide a moist wound environment, vascular assessment, and appropriate antibiotics through a multidisciplinary approach. Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology is considered an innovative tool for the management of DFUs. The utilization of 3D printing technology in the treatment of DFU involves the modernization of traditional methods and the exploration of new techniques. This review discusses recent advancements in 3D printing technology for the application of DFU care, and the development of personalized interventions for the treatment of DFUs.

Methods: We searched the electronic database for the years 2019-2024. Studies related to the use of 3D printing technology in Diabetic foot were included.

Results: A total of 25 identified articles based on database search and citation network analysis. After removing duplicates, 18 articles remained, and three articles that did not meet the inclusion criteria were removed after reading the title/abstract. A total of 97 relevant articles were included during the reading of references. In total, 112 articles were included.

Conclusion: 3D printing technology offers unparalleled advantages, particularly in the realm of personalized treatment. The amalgamation of traditional treatment methods with 3D printing has yielded favorable outcomes in decelerating the progression of DFUs and facilitating wound healing. However, there is a limited body of research regarding the utilization of 3D printing technology in the domain of DFUs.

Keywords: 3D printing; bio-materials; diabetes foot ulcers; intelligent detection; new treatments.

Publication types

Systematic Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This program was supported by the Luzhou City Science and Technology Bureau (grant numbers 2021LZXNYDJ10 and 2020LZXNYDJ14), Cooperation Project between the Second People’s Hospital of Deyang and Southwest Medical University (2022DYEXNYD002). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection or analysis, preparation of the manuscript, or the decision to publish.