Belgium-based Materialise has announced this its 3D printed titanium TRUMATCH® maxillofacial implants for jaw and facial reconstructions have been certified for distribution within the U.S.
The implants are the first of their kind to be cleared for distribution in the one of the largest healthcare markets in the world, and are already available across Australia and Europe.
They will be distributed by Medical firm DePuy Synthes following an agreement in between the two companies in 2016.
CAD and additive manufacturing in facial reconstruction
3D printing is finding increasing adoption in medicine after serious injuries. Patient-specific maxillofacial implants have been used to help reconstruct the bones of cancer patients after the damage of radiotherapy, and in operations to following serious accidents. As discussed by Renishaw’s Amy Davey in our 3D printing: the next five years, there is a significant demand for the devices across medicine, and many companies are developing specialised equipment to help adoption by surgeons.
The Trumatch solution
In a video clip (see below) released by Materialise Medical Maxime Turpin, a Réunion-based Trumatch patient, was pleased with how his implant had repaired the orbital floor below his left eye, saying, “If my story can help others overcome their handicap, this could help other people…that would be a great victory for me.”
Dr. Thomas Schouman, a cranio-maxillofacial surgeon at the University of Paris Hospital, said that Trumatch let him “offer new treatment possibilities, allowing me to perform more complex surgeries or multiple procedures in a single intervention whereas without the implants several interventions would be necessary.”
Hopes for the future
The vision for 3D printing in medicine is that eventually all hospitals will have on-site 3D printing labs to produce permitted equipment, prosthetics and implants. Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in Australia has built a biofabrication unit, while OPM’s 3D printed spinal implants were the first ever to receive permission from the US’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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Featured image: Materialise 3D printed titanium maxillofacial implants, distributed by DePuy Synthes. Image via Materialise NV on Twitter
