Medical successes using metal AM

Latest successes in orthopaedic regenerative medicine using metal additive manufacturing

x-ray of AM mandible after surgical operation [1, 2]

Advances in 3D modelling and in AM technologies enable direct production of custom implants.

Implants can be actively designed to match the physical and mechanical requirements of the region of implantation.

This precise customisation reduces surgical times and enhances cosmetic improvement and success rates.
 
Let’s have a look at a few recent metal AM successes stories in craniofacial and body reconstruction.

​Jaw implant

jaw implant [1, 2]

A full titanium mandible (lower jaw implant) built using electron beam melting (EBM) was coated with hydroxyapatite and successfully implanted in an 83 year old individual [1, 2]. 

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​Face and skull reconstructions 

​Titanium implants built using EBM provided both midfacial support and a graft fixture to reconstruct class III defect [3, 4].
 
A customized implant was specifically designed, built using AM and implanted for the surgical reconstruction of a large cranial defect [5]. 

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Heel bone​

​The world’s first 3D-printed titanium heel bone made using EBM was successfully implanted into a patient [6] in 2014.

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Full rib cage 

A full rib titanium rib cage built using EBM was implanted in a patient in 2015.

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Hip and hip joint

A 15-year old with aggressive bone disease received a titanium metal hip support and hip joint built using selective laser melting [7].

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References
[1] D.E Cooper, M. Stanford, K.A. Kibble, G.J. Gibbons, Additive Manufacturing for product improvement at Red Bull Technology, Mater. Des. 41(2012) 226-230
[2] http://www.xilloc.com/patients/stories/total-mandibular-implant/
[3] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3578652/
[4] C. Mertens, H. Löwenheim, J. Hoffmann, Image data based reconstruction of the midface using a patient-specific implant in combination with a vascularized osteomyocutaneous scapular flap, J. Cranio. Maxill. Surg. 41(2013) 219-225.
[5] A.L. Jardini, M.A. Larosa, C.A. de Carvalho Zavaglia, L.F. Bernardes, C.S. Lambert, P. Kharmandayan, D. Calderoni, R.M. Filho, Customised titanium implant fabricated in additive manufacturing for craniomaxillofacial surgery. Virtual Phys. Prototyp. 9(2014) 115-125.
[6] CSIRO produces 3D heel in world first surgery. 2014. http://www.csiro.au/en/News/News-releases/2014/3D-Heel-In-World-First-Surgery2014.
[7] www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0026065716000047