A high school student researcher has 3D printed a larger-than-life brain using our robotic 3D printer.

Measuring 560mm x 670mm x 370mm tall, the 3D printed brain is four times the size of an average human brain and was modeled from real-world MRI data. The brain's creator, Elena Malott, used open-source software to convert the MRI scans to a 3D surface model which she then sliced and converted to robotic tool paths. The brain, weighing 75kg, was printed with recycled plastic pellets and took approximately 8 hours to print.

According to Elena, MRI scans and 3D printing are similar in that they both utilize “slicing” — a method of encoding 3D dimensional objects as stacked, two-dimensional layers — but work in reverse. Where MRI deconstructs real-world objects into digital images, 3D printing starts with a virtual model and is then built up, layer by layer to become a physical object.

She hopes that her research will help navigate between physical and digital imaging, paving the way for medical advancements such as robot-assisted surgery and 3D printing with biomaterials.

We're amazed by the inventive creations that users like Elena are making with our 3D printer. Our team is working hard to make it easy for anyone to get up-and-running on our machine. We'll be featuring more user stories in the months to come. For more on Elena's story, check out https://www.3dprintedbrain.com