For the first time, a product for the treatment of urological diseases was printed on a 3D printer by Rosatom in Tomsk Polytechnic

2025: Printing a Product for the Treatment of Urological Diseases

Specialists of the Center for Additive Common Access Technologies (TsATOD), created with the support of Rosatom on the basis of Tomsk Polytechnic University, designed and printed the first batch of tooling from metal on a 3D printer for the manufacture of complex medical components - baskets of urological extractors. This was announced on May 29, 2025 by Rosatom.

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Фото: Rosatom

Urological extractors have been reported to be actively used in the treatment of urolithiasis and cholelithiasis to capture and extract stones. The tooling is used to make a basket-trap - the part of the extractor with which the stone is captured and removed. Accessories for the manufacture of baskets of urological extractors must have certain characteristics: not oxidized during heating to 500 degrees, have a low heat capacity, withstand multiple cycles of heating and cooling.

The use of 3D printing made it possible to make tooling much faster, unlike traditional methods, which require the use of thin turning and milling. By the usual method, each part is produced separately, this process takes about two to three hours. Whereas 3D printing allows you to make a batch of 150 accessories in 24 hours. In addition, the use of a printer makes the process more economical - the cost of one part is reduced by about half when compared with traditional methods.

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Фото: Rosatom

The first batch of accessories was printed from nickel-based metal powder on a RusMelt 300M printer, which was produced at the enterprises of the Rosatom Fuel Division and allows you to create complex parts with optimal accuracy using selective laser fusion (SLM) technology. The 3D printer construction area is 300x300x370 mm. Performance - up to 35 cubic cm per hour. The RusMelt 300M provides optimal printed product quality combined with ease of use and maintenance. The products went to medical institutions in Omsk, Perm, Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod, Nadym and other cities.

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Фото: Rosatom

As far as we know, this is the first time that a 3D printer for printing with heat-resistant alloys was used to create such a tooling. Therefore, for the CATOD team, this was a certain call. The engineering task was successfully solved, we received feedback from the customer, worked out printing modes with heat-resistant alloys, tested the printer and made sure of its technical characteristics. noted Evgeny Bolbasov, head of the TsATOD Tomsk Polytechnic

ROSATOM solves the issue of availability of 3D printing in the regions by developing the federal network of Centers for Additive Common Access Technologies. Using the example of TsATOD in the Tomsk Polytechnic, we see a successful collaboration of the university, the enterprise of the Tomsk region and the state corporation Rosatom, which made it possible to optimize the quality and functionality of the product. noted Ilya Kavelashvili, director of the business area "Additive Technologies" of the Fuel Division of Rosatom