Beijing, 22 September ( BelTA - People's Daily) - Doctors at Xijing Hospital, together with a team from Xi'an Jiaotong University, recently saved a 5-month-old infant with congenital heart disease by using 4-D printing technology, Science and Technology Daily reported on Sept. 21.

A 4-D-printed degradable trachea scaffold was used in the baby's surgery. The substance used to print the trachea is designed to be absorbed by the human body within two years. Doctors and experts at Xijing Hospital ultimately decided on such a scaffold to protect the infant's abnormally narrow bronchia.

The concept of 4-D printing can be simply explained as 3-D printing plus the fourth dimension of time. A 3-D printer with extremely high resolution prints products using smart materials. When used in surgery, the resulting products can evolve in form over time.

Thanks to advanced technology, the baby left the hospital 10 days after his surgery. So far he appears to be in good health.