I am looking for a way to print medical models that will also be radiopaque, meaning the models will show up on x-rays or CT scans. There are some additives that can be mixed with polymers, such as barium sulfate, that will increase the radiopacity but I don’t know how this will affect the chemistry of the resins. Has anyone tried playing around with this idea? Are there any coatings that can be placed over the model after it prints to achieve the same result?
Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!
James
Good question. You can electroplated parts. After looking up barium sulphate, it sounds like a small amour would likely work without affecting curing much, but that would be an experiment for you.
Like suggested above, the best option is going to be metal plating. Copper and nickel is standard. Try Repliform or SAT plating. Once you have nickel you can do gold to get the most mass per thickness. It depends on the wall thickness of the part you are making when it comes to additives. Typical % are like 20%? Seems like a lot but easy enough to try if you can acquire the barium sulfate.
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