ADDITIV Medical 2026: Global Experts Tackle 3D Printing Gaps
In Barcelona, a surgeon rehearses a cardiac procedure on a model printed from a patient’s imaging data. At a pediatric hospital in Nebraska, a custom cranial guide is produced in days instead of weeks.
The faster knowledge flows between hospitals, laboratories and companies working in this field, the faster clinical care improves. That is precisely the exchange ADDITIV Medical, organized by 3Dnatives, aims to accelerate. Register HERE.
For its ninth edition, ADDITIV Medical 2026 will bring together over 500 professionals from around the world, including clinicians, hospital program leads, medical device companies and additive manufacturing solution providers. Speakers include surgeons and 3D printing program managers from UCSF, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and Children’s Nebraska, alongside industry leaders such as Erez Ben-Zvi (Vice President, Healthcare, Stratasys), Dan Crawford (Founder & CSO, Axial3D) and Michael Librus (CEO & Founder, Synergy3DMed).
The summit will take place on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, from 16:00 to 18:40 CEST (10:00 to 12:40 EDT). Participation is free. Please note the event will be conducted in English. The program consists of three expert roundtables followed by live Q&A sessions with the audience.
“Every project we undertake in medical additive manufacturing starts with a patient: faster diagnosis, smoother surgery, better outcome,” said Filippos Voulpiotis, General Manager of 3Dnatives. “That is why it is essential to bring this community together. With ADDITIV Medical, we want to help spread these developments more broadly.”
Topics covered in the roundtables
Roundtable 1: Can AI be trusted to design patient‑specific models? (16:00–16:55 CEST)
When an algorithm inside a software platform takes on the design of a custom implant or an anatomical model, who is ultimately responsible for its accuracy? This session will explore the balance between rapid automation and patient safety: how to validate that AI has not misinterpreted imaging data and where algorithmic efficiency ends and human responsibility begins. The discussion will cover verification workflows, clinical oversight and practical steps teams use to ensure reliable outputs from automated tools.
Speakers:
Anish Ghodadra, Medical Director, 3D Printing Program, UPMC
Dan Crawford, Founder & CSO, Axial3D
Moderated by David Adrover, President of Addliance.
Roundtable 2: Who pays for customization? The true ROI of medical 3D printing (17:00–17:45 CEST)
While the clinical benefits of custom medical 3D printing are clear, the financial models that support long‑term adoption are less defined. This panel will examine who shoulders the initial investments, whether hospitals can secure reimbursement for patient‑specific guides, and how institutions build reproducible return‑on‑investment cases. Attendees will hear about budgeting strategies, cost‑benefit considerations and approaches to make personalized devices financially sustainable in healthcare systems.
Speakers:
Michael Librus, CEO & Founder, Synergy3DMed
Gabe Linke, Head of 3D, Children’s Nebraska
Moderated by Clare Scott, Editor‑in‑Chief of Today’s Medical Developments.
Roundtable 3: How do 3D‑printed guides and models prevent surgical surprises? (17:50–18:35 CEST)
Even the most experienced surgical teams can encounter unexpected findings once the patient is on the operating table. This discussion will show how patient‑specific physical models and guides transform preoperative planning—from time saved in the OR to the remaining bottlenecks in the digital‑to‑print workflow. Panelists will discuss practical examples of how models improve surgical rehearsal, communication across teams and intraoperative decision making.
Speakers:
Shafkat Anwar, Director, 3D+ Program, Pediatric Heart Center, University of California, San Francisco
Erez Ben‑Zvi, Vice President, Healthcare, Stratasys
Ferran Fillat Gomà, Orthopedic Surgeon & 3D Digital Surgery Expert, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona
Devid Zille, Director, Medical Visualization & 3D Printing Lab, Tampa General Hospital
Moderated by Naomi Nathan, Head of the Healthcare division at Mobility Goes Additive.
Sponsors and partners
ADDITIV Medical 2026 is supported by Protolabs, Stratasys Medical and Carbon. Media partners include Today’s Medical Developments, Mobility Goes Additive, ASTM International, AMGTA, SPE, 3D Alliances, Wevolver, Metal AM Magazine, Manufacturing in Focus, Tooling and Production, IAM3DHUB, Manufacturing.net, Manufacturing Engineering and Technology and 3DPrint.com.
Registration
Attendance at ADDITIV Medical 2026 is free. Register HERE.
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