Today, with the rapid development of science and technology,
3D printing is no longer a new term.
As a new technology,
We know that 3D printing is very versatile,
The reporter recently heard that
Guangzhou Zoo uses 3D printing technology,
Changing the "bird birth" of a baby hornbill.
Want to know what kind of story this is?
Hurry up and follow the reporter
A (ba) probe (gua) investigation (yi) actually (xia) go!
"Mom, why am I different from other children?"
Today's protagonist,
It is a silver-cheeked hornbill baby living in the Guangzhou Zoo.
Small link – about hornbills
Hornbills, belonging to the Bucerotidae family, all hornbills are cave nest birds (as the name suggests, nesting in caves), Asian hornbills have a unique habit, the female will seal the opening of the cave with a mud of food residue and excrement, leaving only a small slit for the beak to protrude, receiving food from the male. As the young birds grow up, the females will peck at the open mud in the space in the tree hole for too little, while before that, the food for the young birds and females came entirely from the male's delivery.
(Image from the Internet)
In the middle of last year, a mother of a silver-cheeked noisy hornbill living in the Guangzhou Zoo was busy removing the sealing mud on the nest box, and the newly born silver-cheeked noisy hornbill baby was about to fly out of the nest box under the guidance of her mother. After more than three months of waiting and feeding, the hornbill parents are exhausted, and teaching the chicks to feed themselves as soon as possible is the next priority for the couple.
Just as the keepers and the hornbilly father were looking forward to the mother and son's exit and witnessing this historic moment, everyone was shocked to find that the mouth of the little hornbill had grown into a strange "V" shape.
Peng Shiming, a senior veterinarian at Guangzhou Zoo, told reporters that the mouth of the small hornbill grows like this, and it is impossible to feed itself, and can only continue to rely on the feeding of the bird's father and mother.
The deformation of the upper beak of the baby hornbill causes it to bend to the left, causing the upper and lower beaks to not close properly.
As the months passed, the baby hornbills also grew up, and the daily feeding time became longer and longer, and once the bird father and mother no longer filled in, the baby hornbills would face the danger of starvation.
"Don't be afraid, we're here!"
In order to help this "folded winged" silver-cheeked noisy hornbill baby, the veterinary, scientific research and breeding team of Guangzhou Zoo set up a special study.
After many observations and analysis, experts learned that the hornbill baby is due to the deformation of the upper beak leading to the bend to the left, resulting in the upper and lower beak can not be closed normally, and the normal hornbill upper beak is a bone cavity structure, both hard and light, is a tool for foraging, socializing, nesting, with important physiological functions.
In addition, traditional surgical repair cannot help the hornbills completely eradicate this serious physical defect. In response, veterinarians decided to try to use a new PEEK material (polyetheretherketone resin) to design and make a prosthesis that meets the requirements through medical 3D printing technology to help the hornbill baby recreate a new "mouth".
Perform a three-dimensional scan of the baby hornbill's mouth
Experts are designing and making a new beak for the little hornbilly
Design of the new mouth of the baby hornbill
According to the designated plan, at the end of 2018, a team of experts at the Guangzhou Zoo conducted a laser three-dimensional scan of the mouth of the baby hornbill, collecting relevant data and building a model. After completing the preliminary preparatory work, the technicians then repeatedly adjusted and modified the shape, size, weight and other parameters of the "prosthetic mouth" according to the characteristics of the hornbill's living habits and behavior, and finally determined the specific prosthesis production and surgical installation plan.
Until the beginning of this year, Shaanxi Jugao Additive Intelligent Manufacturing Technology Development Co., Ltd., which is supported by Xi'an Jiaotong University, completed the production of "prosthetic beak" in the Weinan 3D printing incubation base, and was airlifted to Guangzhou Zoo, where veterinarians in the park helped the little hornbills complete the installation surgery.
24 hours after the operation, the silver-cheeked hornbill baby has adapted to the newly installed "prosthetic mouth" and, under the guidance of its parents, began to try to peck at the feed and comb its feathers.
Congratulations to little hornbills Kitty's beautiful new mouth!
Journalist's Note
"From a person's attitude toward animals, we can know a little bit about his kindness." The experts of Guangzhou Zoo, using their professional skills, gave the little hornbills a best gift. The full of love behind this gift also made the reporter very moved, and they used their kindness to not only warm the growth of the little hornbill, but also plucked the soft string at the bottom of the reporter's heart, giving them a big heart
Finally, A family portrait of a hornbill is presented
"Mom and Dad, what are we going to eat today?"
Source: Information Times reporter Huang Qimei Intern Huang Bingsheng, micro-community e jiatong happy yellow flower
Images in this article are courtesy of Guangzhou Zoo (except by attribution)