Full skull reconstruction via 3D printing

Posted on by aneczka2307

http://www.medicaldaily.com/chinese-girl-becomes-worlds-first-receive-full-skull-reconstruction-3d-printing-343390

Chinese Girl Becomes World’s First To Receive Full Skull Reconstruction Via 3D Printing

A 3-year-old girl in China will finally be able to lift her head from the pillow after receiving the world’s first full skull reconstruction surgery via 3D printing technology. The toddler, referred to as “Han Han,” underwent 17 hours of surgery at the Second People’s Hospital of Hunan Province in China after suffering from a rare condition that caused her head to grow four times the normal size. The procedure, translated from Chinese as “whole brain shrinking plastic surgery,” involved a full 3D reconstruction and 3D printing of a new titanium skull to reposition her brain.

“CT results showed that Han Han’s brain was filled 80 percent with water,” said Dr. Bo of the Second People’s Hospital of Hunan Province, 3Dprint.com reported. “If she was not sent to hospital for treatment, Han Han would not have survived the summer. We had to first eliminate the infection in Han Han’s head because the brain wound area was too large, and we needed to do skin graft surgery and insert a shunt to help eliminate the infection, and remove the fluid from her brain.”

She was first diagnosed with congenital hydrocephalus at the age of 6 months. This type of hydrocephalus is present at birth and can either be caused by events or influences that occur during fetal development, or genetic abnormalities, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Typically in congenital hydrocephalus, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surrounds the brain and spinal cord. Excessive accumulation of CSF leads to abnormal widening of spaces in the brain called ventricles. This creates potentially harmful pressure on the tissues of the brain.

In infancy, the most notable symptom of hydrocephalus is a rapid increase in head circumference of an unusually large head size. For Han Han, the pressure of the excess fluid on the brain made her head weigh more than half her body weight, so much so she struggled to lift it from the pillow or get out of bed, the DailyMail reported. The toddler also developed medical problems, such as a thinning skull and poor blood supply. This prompted the family to take immediate action.

Chen Youzhi, Han Han’s father, was left to scramble for cash after the toddler’s mother left when she was 1 year old. Youzhi was able to collect 100,000 Chinese Yuan in donations from family and friends to meet the goal of 400,000–500,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately $64,000–$80,000) to pay for his daughter’s surgery. It was through online donations that Youzhi was able to get his daughter the life-saving surgery that would change her life.

Surgeons were able to use 3D data and a CT scanner to create models for 3D printing three titanium mesh skull implants that would together replace Han Han’s entire top portion of her skull. During the procedure, her scalp was peeled away from her skull and then attached to protective saline pads. Drainage tubes were then put in her head to slowly release the CSF. Lastly, the surgeons took the three 3D-printed titanium implants and inserted them into her head to recreate a new skull for her.

The world’s first 3D printer full skull reconstructive surgery was successfully completed once Han Han opened her eyes and was breathing before being transferred to the ICU for recovery. As she continues to grow, the titanium implants will become surrounded by her own bone, which will lead to the strengthening of the top of her skull. She is expected to make a full recovery.

3D printing has helped improve the lives of many infants like Han Han, including Gabriel Mandeville. The infant with epileptic seizures started to forget the fundamental things he was learning. Gabriel successfully underwent hemispherectomy treatment with a 3D-print brain replica to ensure his mental development and to help him become seizure-free.

The evolution of 3D printing has led the medical world to envision a new kind of future. Medical 3D printing began with devices such as hearing aids. Now there are 3D-printed implants, bone replacements, and soon human tissue. Advancements in 3D printing have helped change how people view medical illnesses.

medicaldaily.com

by  | Jul 16, 2015 02:17 PM

3D printed prosthetic jaw!

Posted on by aneczka2307

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-20/melbourne-man-receives-titanium-3d-printed-prosthetic-jaw/6536788

3D printed titanium prosthetic jaw joint bone

Titanium, 3D printed prosthetic jaw implanted in Melbourne man in Australian first surgery

Surgeons have successfully implanted a titanium 3D-printed prosthetic jaw in a Melbourne man in an Australian-first operation.

It is hoped the success of the locally designed and tested part will lead to high-tech export opportunities.

The patient, 32-year-old psychologist Richard Stratton, was missing part of his jawbone including the left condyle, the joint to the skull.

He believed part of his jaw never grew properly after he received a bad knock to the jaw during childhood.

In the past few years, he has suffered increasing pain while chewing or moving his jaw and he has not been able to fully open his mouth.

Oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr George Dimitroulis designed a prototype prosthesis that was refined and tested by experts at Melbourne University’s mechanical engineering department.

Dr Dimitroulis said that while there had been a handful of 3D-printed jaw operations worldwide, he was not aware of any that incorporated a titanium part and a 3D-printed plastic jaw joint.

“In terms of joint replacement specifically, what we call the TMJ – the temporomandibular joint – we suspect that this may be the first 3D-printed jaw joint in the world,” he said.

It was designed to protect the skull from a rubbing metal joint which would wear and erode into the cranial cavity.

“The beauty of this particular joint itself is that it was designed in Australia and manufactured [by an Australian firm] … and not just manufactured in the common sense, but 3D printed,” he said.

“It really makes the fit truly patient-fitted, truly customised, as opposed to ‘we’re close enough’ and it’s something that I think will become the norm in the future as technology [becomes] cheaper.”

Dr Dimitroulis said it was a great example of “smart Australia” and 3D printing would lead to “revolutionary” changes in jaw prosthesis surgery.

Richard Stratton before and after surgery

Sunrise of a whole new industry

Before the operation, Mr Stratton said he was excited to be “patient X on the Australian joint” and joked that he had put in an order for a “Brad Pitt” jaw.

He hoped many more patients would benefit from having their replacement joints 3D printed and personalised to them.

“It sounds a bit [like] science fiction … I don’t really understand 3D printing that much but it’s exciting,” he said.

“They have a 3D model of my skull and the fact that they’ve made the joint to fit that perfectly, I feel a lot safer in knowing that it’s not just a factory made, off-the-shelf joint.

“Hopefully all the time they’ve spent on their computers and designing my new jaw, hopefully that will make the short-term recovery better for me and also the longer-term outcome is that it will last a lot longer and hopefully work a lot more efficiently.”

Port Melbourne firm 3D Medical used powdered titanium that was heated and fused one layer at a time to print the prosthesis.

Technicians also used CT scan images to print a 3D plastic model of Mr Stratton’s skull and then refined the titanium part to provide a perfect fit.

While this part was manufactured in New Zealand, future parts will be locally produced.

Company chairman Dr Nigel Finch said about 30 versions of the part had to be printed during the customisation process but he predicted that any future adaptation would take much less time.

“It really is the sunrise of a whole new industry,” he said.

“I think that greater support, better understanding by the regulators and better understanding by hospitals and the healthcare system, will see the adoption of 3D medical implants and other technologies starting to become mainstream.

“Most of the implants that patients receive now are generic sizing, and of course nobody really is small, medium or large.”

New 3D printed titanium jaw part for Richard Stratton attached to a 3D printed version of his skull.

On-demand printing the way of the future

Dr Finch said the cost of the technology had come down to a “truly competitive” price point compared with conventional manufacturing of parts.

The use of highly-automated machines also eliminated much of the labour cost that had traditionally made Australian manufacturing uncompetitive.

“One of the things that’s really personally exciting for me is this whole idea about bringing a manufacturing base back to Australia and focusing around the digital aspect of it,” Dr Finch said.

“We currently have a model where the hospitals are carrying inventory of generic implants, and this is very costly on the hospital’s balance sheets, very costly on the healthcare system and I can see a future where we’re manufacturing parts on an as-required basis so we’re printing on demand.”

Melbourne University biomedical engineer, Dr David Ackland, said it was “quite unusual and unexpected” to be approached by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon with a design prototype as computer simulations had mostly been performed on knee, shoulder and hip joints in the past.

“It’s very very important before you put an implant into the human body that you know that it’s going to be able to withstand the normal forces, the internal forces in the human body,” he said.

“We performed computer simulations [on the jaw prosthesis] to determine the joint loading and the loading on the implant and the screws, which of course the prosthesis would be subject to during biting and chewing.

“So we’ve done quite a comprehensive set of musculoskeletal modelling studies … to make sure that it doesn’t fail.”

Dr Ackland said 3D printing technology was still in its infancy so there were not a lot of customised components being developed or placed inside the human body.

“It’s incredibly exciting and there’s enormous potential for use of 3D printing technology to develop customised, patient-specific joint replacements and prosthetic components for a range of patients with different musculoskeletal disorders,” he said.

‘The excitement was unbearable’

Just after completing the five-hour operation, Dr Dimitroulis said he was “very proud” that three years of hard work had paid off.

“The excitement was unbearable I think, just at the last minute we thought it just wasn’t going to fit in but it just slid in nicely,” he said.

Dr Dimitroulis said patients with severe osteoarthritis of the jaw would benefit from the new implant and two patients had already signed on to receive one.

Mr Stratton said he found the pain and swelling confronting in the first few days after surgery but one month later and he was already able to open his mouth wider than before the surgery.

“The physiotherapist is really impressed and she works with these joints every day, and she says the range of movement … is a lot more than other patients that she’s worked with,” he said.

As for the “Brad Pitt” look, Mr Stratton has been clearly amused by his new chiselled jawline.

“People have have been really politely saying that it’s a huge improvement,” he laughed.

“I didn’t notice that I didn’t have a chin before, but people are now saying, ‘Wow, you’ve got such a great chin!'”

X-ray front shot

abc.net.au

by Stephanie Ferrier | 22 Jun 2015, 4:45am

Mainstream 3d printing

Posted on by aneczka2307

http://www.ibtimes.com.au/3d-printing-breaking-mainstream-1450988

3D Printing

3D Printing Is Breaking Into The Mainstream

Five years ago, the thought of “mainstream 3d printing” might seem a little far-fetched for the practical manufacturer. However, the technology has advanced in such a rapid pace that the number of industries applying the process continue to increase. At the moment, 3D printing can produce anything from human stem cells to airplane parts. Indeed, the possibilities with additive manufacturing are limitless.

Analysts at research company Gartner said that a technology has officially become mainstream when it reaches an adoption level of 20 percent. In 2014, a PWC survey revealed that more than two-thirds of 100 manufacturing companies were using 3D printing, with 28.9 percent stating that they were still experimenting on processes in which they would implement the in-demand technology.

Additionally, 9.6 percent of the companies revealed that they were in the stages of prototyping and production, and these companies include General Electric, Boeing and Google. Companies that belong to this tier testified to the advantageous effects of 3D printing, which include time saving and cost efficiency. Another survey held by the International Data Corporation, or IDC, revealed that 90 percent of the companies that use 3D printing are very satisfied with its benefits.

Large companies represent biggest buyers of 3D printer, but the high number of smaller and independent businesses opting to use 3D printing is still difficult to ignore. Keith Kmetz, vice president of Hardcopy Peripherals Solutions and Services at IDC, stated that companies that apply 3D printing are well aware of its positive benefits.

“These printers are typically acquired for a specific creation workflow, but once in place, the usage expands rapidly to other types of applications. The early adopters who recognized the substantial cost and time-to-market benefits of 3D printing have carried the day, but it’s their overall satisfaction and the ability to expand usage that will ultimately drive 3D printing to the next level,” said Kmetz.

In the next couple of years, more companies are expected to switch to 3D printing, and more materials will be used for a wide array of products. Currently, the most commonly used materials are basic plastics, ceramics, cement, glass and numerous metals such as titanium and aluminum. The demand for these materials will continue to increase, especially for titanium. Titanium is heavily used in the medical, aerospace, and automotive applications of 3D printing, in the form of personalised surgical implants and fuel tanks.

To sustain 3D printing’s use of titanium when it hits the mainstream, the global pipeline for the semi-precious metal should be secured for the following years. Thankfully, several mines in South America are already on their way to produce high-grade supply of titanium, such as White Mountain Titanium Corporation (OTCQB: WMTM) in Chile. White Mountain Titanium sits on a deposit in Cerro Blanco that contains 112 million tons of high-grade rutile. Companies applying 3D printing can benefit from it once the mine starts distributing the supply around the world.

ibtimes.com.au

by  | June 04 2015 12:11 AM

3D printed titanium jaw implant for a sea turtle

Posted on by aneczka2307

http://3dprint.com/65476/sea-turtle-3d-printed-jaw/

turtleani

Turkish Turtle Receives 3D Printed Titanium Jaw

3DPrint.com head office is stationed in sunny Florida, I’m here in northeast Ohio, where we’re still waiting in mid-May for spring to settle in for sure. Back in February, I skipped out on Cleveland’s -20°F cold front and hopped a plane down to visit a friend in south Florida for a week. As my fiancé and family continued to freeze, my friend asked if I wanted to go down to the ocean one evening, so we could see if the sea turtles were coming in. Aside from my obvious cheer at weather that was actually a ‘real feel’ of a solid 100° temperature difference (it’s a different world, going from -20° to 80° in one day) and frolicking beachside, I was so excited to go see the turtles–few animals in nature are quite as impressive, long-lived, and stately as the sea turtle.

Seven species of sea turtle currently live around the world, and four are classified as either “endangered” or “critically endangered,” with another two being “vulnerable” to joining their ranks. One of the endangered species, the Caretta caretta or loggerhead sea turtle, has a lifespan of up to almost 70 years and can be found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea–all places where, especially since they need to lay their eggs on land, they are unfortunately susceptible to the negative environmental influence brought about by humans.

turtle

In Turkey, a loggerhead sea turtle was recently brought to the Sea Turtle Research, Rescue and Rehabilitation Center at Pamukkale University (PAU). The turtle, which they called AKUT3, had significant damage to its upper and lower jaws, and the team at PAU noted that the turtle was unable to feed on its own in the wild.

The Sea Turtle Research, Rescue and Rehabilitation Center at PAU was quick to help, and it turned out that the turtle’s best chance for healing came courtesy of 3D printing. The Center’s director, Prof. Dr. Yakup Kaska, noted that 3D technology proved to be the best hope for the turtle–and this particular operation would represent the first time in the world that a sea turtle would benefit from the technology.

btech

BTech Innovation, “the first private R&D corporation in Turkey,” has extensive experience with 3D technology for medical applications–creating medical-grade implants, models, and prostheses–and came to the turtle’s aid. Using CT scans from the turtle’s veterinary care, the BTech team used the Mimics Innovation Suite from Materialise to create a 3D model of the affected areas of the turtle’s jaws. Ultimately, BTech took the models created to design an implant for the turtle, 3D printing it in titanium.

jaw closeup

The surgery was a success and the patient is recovering quite nicely, though that process is sure in itself to require some time. The turtle’s veterinary surgeon, Prof. Dr. Anas M. Anderson, noted that the turtle did not show any signs of rejecting the implant, following a post-op examination 18 days after the procedure.

While I didn’t actually get to see any sea turtles on my Floridian jaunt a few months ago, it’s wonderful to know that thanks to the efforts of caring veterinary teams around the world, there will still be more chances to see these incredible, endangered gentle giants as their health needs can be met and their lives saved.

Have you heard of similar stories of 3D printed implants in the veterinary world? Let us know what you think of this one in the 3D Printed Titanium Jaw Implant for a Sea Turtle forum thread over at 3DPB.com.

turtle jaw

btech

3dprint.com

by   | MAY 14, 2015

Healthcare and 3D printing

Posted on by Malta 3D Printing

Tailor-Made Antibiotics and Cancer-Killing Medicine Courtesy of 3D Printing 🙂

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1b4d6212-9fd4-11e4-9a74-00144feab7de.html

Implants can be designed to fit exactly

Healthcare and 3D printing join forces

Customisable beads that deliver antibiotics and cancer-fighting drugs when implanted in the body have been developed by researchers at Louisiana Tech University. The implants, which use biomedical and nanosystems engineering, are one of a growing range of medical applications for 3D printing.

Three-dimensional printing — in which objects are built up layer by layer using materials such as polymers and metals — is bringing sweeping changes to the medical world.

Implants and prosthetics can be tailor-made for individual patients, while additive manufacturing, as 3D printing is also known, has broad applications in reconstructive surgery.

3D scanning means surgical procedures can be tested out on a computer. By printing models of damaged bones or body parts, implants can be designed to fit exactly, while 3D cutting and positioning guides give surgeons greater accuracy in the operating room.

Meanwhile, customisation is moving into the realm of personalised medicines. For example, doctors could formulate drugs to treat the conditions of individual patients and “print” them in the clinic.

This idea is being pursued at Nottingham University in the UK, where a team of researchers is working on creating 3D-printed pills containing several ingredients. Various layers of drugs are printed and coated in materials that allow each to be released at a different time.

This could make life easier for older people and patients with several conditions who need take large numbers of pills throughout the day.

Researchers even foresee a time when organs and tissues could be created using bio-printing. Already, 3D-printed cells can be used in pre-clinical tests to produce early insights into the effectiveness of a drug or medical intervention.

However, given the complexity of the body’s network of major blood vessels and capillaries — which support life by delivering nutrients and oxygen and removing waste — the bigger challenge is printing implantable organs and tissues.

An important step was taken last year, when researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the universities of Sydney, Harvard and Stanford succeeded in bio-printing an artificial vascular network.

Of course, printing implantable human organs remains some way off. But while much excitement surrounds this possibility, 3D printing has another big advantage for the future of medicine: lower costs.

The custom medical beads developed by Louisiana Tech University, for example, do not require expensive, specialised equipment. They can be made using any consumer printer.

FT.COM
by Sarah Murray | February 16, 2015 4:11 pm

3D printed knee implants

Posted on by Malta 3D Printing

Customisable knee implants? 3D printing’s got that covered! 🙂

http://boston.cbslocal.com/…/bedford-company-using-3d-prin…/

Knee replacement X-ray. (WBZ-TV)

Bedford Company Using 3D Printer To Make Customized Knee Implants

BOSTON (CBS) – “We see a lot of knee injuries in here,” says Jeff Dosdall, a personal trainer and co-owner of Bodyscapes in Wellesley. “They’ve got arthritis. They’ve got overuse injuries, and the knees start to wear out on you.” Even for some people in their 30s and 40s, and a lot of folks end up having surgery.

Knee replacement is the most common joint replacement worldwide. Providing huge relief, most of the time.

Dr. Philipp Lang, CEO and co-founder of ConforMIS, a medical device company in Bedford, says about a quarter of patients aren’t happy with their results. “They have pain, limited range of motion, the knee doesn’t feel natural,” says Dr. Lang.

So ConforMIS is changing that. It’s the only company in the world that is making knee replacement implants that are completely tailored to each individual patient.

Using CT imaging, special computer software, and 3D printer technology, scientists produce a unique knee implant and customized surgical instruments, designed for one patient and only that patient.

“This fits exactly to your patient,” explains Dr. Lang. “It brings back your individual knee, the shape of your knee, the curvature of your knee and should move like a normal knee.”

No two knees are the same and off the shelf implants come in a limited number of sizes. A bad fit, says orthopedic surgeon Dr. Joseph Czarnecki of Excel Orthopedics in Woburn, can cause more bleeding and swelling. “I’ve seen more with the ConforMIS knee that’s there’s a quicker return to range of motion for most patients,” says Dr. Czarnecki. “There doesn’t tend to be as much swelling and not as much pain in the hospital because this is matched to their bone.”

Mary Cowles of Westminster had a traditional knee replacement back in 2001 and a ConforMIS implant in her other knee just three months ago. She says there’s no comparison. “Time-wise in the hospital, less time,” Cowles says. “Physical therapy was much easier. I got movement so much faster. If I didn’t see the scar on it, I would assume it was my normal knee.”

The ConforMIS implants are covered by insurance and generally aren’t more expensive. The company says they plan to make other joints, like shoulders and hips. And they’re the first company to receive FDA approval for 3D printing in metal.

BOSTON.CBSLOCAL.COM
by Dr. Mallika Marshall, WBZ-TV | October 17, 2014 11:21 PM

First 3D printed knee for cat!

Posted on by Malta 3D Printing

Cyrano the cat gets a second chance to be able to use a leg deteriorated from bone cancer again, with the help of the first 3D printed knee joint ever made for cats! 🙂

http://www.engineering.com/…/3D-Printing-Creates-the-Worlds…

3D printing, medicine, cat, surgery

3D Printing Creates the World’s First Replacement Knee Joint in a Cat

A Weighty Dilemma

It’s the kind of diagnosis you dread. When Cyrano developed bone cancer in his left hind leg, his owners wanted to get him the best treatment possible to bring him back to full health. After successful radiation treatment that eliminated the tumour, Cyrano went into full remission. Unfortunately, because of the invasive nature of the cancer, Cyrano was left with bone deterioration in his distal femur and he was unable to use his painful knee joint. In cases like this, surgeons normally choose to amputate the affected limb; however, at 26 lbs, Cyrano wouldn’t be able to support his weight with only three legs. Undeterred, Cyrano’s owners enlisted the help of experienced veterinary surgeon and orthopaedic specialist Dr Denis Marcellin-Little and his long-time collaborator Ola Harrysson, Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at North Carolina State University to create a custom solution for their beloved pet.

Getting Cyrano Back on His Feet

3D printing, medicine, cat, surgery

Dr Marcellin-Little and Prof Harrysson have worked with Materialise using Additive Manufacturing in surgeries for over 10 years. With amputation out of consideration, they felt that 3D Printing could provide an ideal solution for Cyrano because of its ability to create small but detailed parts to exacting specifications. Cyrano would thus become one of the very first cats to receive a miniature, limb-sparing total knee arthroplasty. Starting with CT scans of both hind legs, Dr Marcellin-Little and Prof Harrysson used Materialise’s Mimics Innovation Suite to generate accurate 3D models of Cyrano’s leg. Adapting the design of a knee implant used in dogs, in collaboration with BioMedtrix, an animal implant company, they then created a miniature implant that fit to the exact anatomical structure of Cyrano’s leg, and the surgical plan needed to successfully realize the procedure. Because of the small size of the bones, the integrated ability of the Mimics Innovation Suite to engineer parts on a personalised anatomical model facilitated a process that would have otherwise been extremely difficult to manage and perform accurately.

Building Strength and Integration Features Into Implants

Knowing the bone structure around the joint was weak, the implant was designed with stems that would anchor it into the bones. Materialise technology partner EOS then printed the implant using cobalt chromium, a metal strong enough to support Cyrano’s weight and the wear and tear that daily use would exert on the thin parts. Building the implant by Direct Metal Laser Sintering meant that mesh and porous areas that would promote integration of the implant into the bone could also be built into the piece as it was being created. These features, only achievable using Additive Manufacturing, provide enhanced long-term stability over traditional implants, giving surgeons a new option for non-standard cases such as Cyrano’s that can be tailored exactly to their needs. Since his surgery Cyrano has returned to his family, and although he now walks with a limp, he can move freely again with full use of his joint. With 3D Printing now entering the veterinary realm, cats are one step closer to experiencing their full nine lives.

References:

BY ENGINEERING.COM
by http://www.engineering.com/Author/ID/8/TheEngineer | August 28, 2014
http://www.engineering.com/3DPrinting/3DPrintingArticles/ArticleID/8357/3D-Printing-Creates-the-Worlds-First-Replacement-Knee-Joint-in-a-Cat.aspx

The first 3D printed vertebrae

Posted on by Malta 3D Printing

The first 3D printed vertabra has successfully been implanted in 12 year old boy! Follow the link to read more!

http://www.forbes.com/…/peking-university-implants-first-3…/

Liu Zhongiun, Director of Orthopedics at Peking University, holding the 3D printed vertebra.

Peking University Implants First 3D Printed Vertebra

Doctors at Peking University have successfully implanted the first 3D printed vertebrae in a young patient.

The patient, a 12 year old boy, had a malignant tumour in his spinal cord. After hours  of specialized spinal cord surgery, doctors replaced a section of cancerous vertebra in his neck with the 3D printed piece.

3D printing creates layer upon layer of material in specific patterns or shapes to make a 3D object from a digital model.  Materials in 3D printing are usually polymers and metals, and in this case, a titanium powder which is a traditional orthopedic implant material.

As far as tradition goes, that’s where the similarities end. Because of the limitations of traditional orthopedic implant manufacturing  – normally in geometric-type shapes with less realistic shaping or conformity to the bones, implants typically don’t attach to the bone without orthopedic cement or screws.

The worldwide orthopedic market had global revenues of more than $36b in 2008. According to a new report by Freedonia, the demand for implantable medical devices in the United States alone is projected to increase 7.7 percent annually to $52 billion in 2015. The study reported that orthopedic implants will be one of the fastest growing and nanotechnology and biotechnology will fuel growth and demand to the market. With the Silver Economy coming of age, orthopedics is a high growth market.

Because 3D printing is flexible, based on and created from a digital model, 3D printing enables orthopedic implants to be printed in any shape. This opens the door to hundreds of possibilities that weren’t available before. Now, instead of cement or screws, the implant is more in line or matches the bone around it.

In the case of the boy’s 3D implant, the doctor’s took this one step further and made tiny pores in the implant so the bones can grow into the implants which secures the device and eliminates cement and screws.

“Although the probability is very low, it is possible that under long-term pressure from inside the body, traditional implants might plug into bones gradually, or become detached from bones. But there will be no such problems for 3-D printed implants,” said Liu Zhongjun, Director, Orthopedics Department, Peking University.

Liu’s team began the program in 2009 and provided designs based on their clinical experience and understanding of surgical needs. A medical device company digitalized their designs for 3D printing. In 2010, they moved to animal trials with sheep and after trials proved the 3D implants were safe, they applied for human clinical trials in 2012.

FORBES.COM
by Jennifer Hicks, Contributor | 8/19/2014 2:48PM