The benefits of 3-D printing continue to show themselves, as the technology continues it meteoric rise is popularity and awareness. Most recently, one Ohio boy owes his life to a product of 3-D printing.

Little Kaiba Gionfriddo is by all accounts not supposed to be alive. At just 3 months of age he had never left the hospital and because his airway kept collapsing. Often his breathing and heart would stop and he would need to be immediately resuscitated. Most everyone involved agreed that the boy needed a miracle.

"Quite a few of them [doctors] said he had a good chance of not leaving the hospital alive. It was pretty scary. We pretty much prayed every night, hoping that he would pull through," his mother said. "At that point, we were desperate. Anything that would work, we would take it and run with it."

His mothers prayers were finally answered in the form of cutting edge technology. A 3-D printing machine was used to print out 100 tiny tubes that were then inserted into his airway to keep it open and safe from collapsing. It was the first time such a procedure had ever been done, and the doctors had to get special clearance from the FDA.

"I can think of a handful of children I have seen in the last two decades who suffered greatly... that likely would have benefited from this technology," said Dr. John Bent, a pediatric specialist at New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

The surgery on Gionfriddo was a medical first. Not only have past children in his position perished due to the inability of traditional paper splints to hold up for any serviceable amount of time, but it also represents the first time a 3-D printing machine has been successfully used in surgery.

"It's the wave of the future," said Dr. Robert Weatherly, a pediatric specialist at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. "I'm impressed by what they were able to accomplish."

3-D printing machines have been in the news quite a bit lately. A handgun made almost entirely of plastic was made using a 3-D printing machine, already causing much controversy. Researchers also just won a prize from NASA to develop 3-D printed food after successfully "printing" off chocolate.