Continuing its commitment to developing and providing personalized solutions in healthcare using 3D technologies, Materialise NV (NASDAQ: MTLS) has recently teamed up with Consensus Orthopedics, a high-quality manufacturer of knee & hip implants in California, USA, to utilize its Knee Guide System in patient treatment.
Materialise has pioneered the use of software and 3D printing in medical treatment since 1990, from patient-specific surgical guides or implants to image-based anatomical models, from surgical planning software to image-processing tools, their solutions not only help improve the efficacy of medical treatment but also transform overall communication, visualization, planning, and customization in healthcare. Their Knee Guide System, an innovative solution consisting of easy-to-use 3D surgical planning software and patient-specific surgical guides for knee surgery, allows surgeons to efficiently and accurately plan knee surgeries based on the patient’s unique anatomy and structural damage. Based on that pre-operative plan, patient-specific guides are designed and 3D printed for use during surgery.
Jeroen Dille, Director of Materialise’s Clinical Unit, stated, “Since the start of Materialise 25 years ago, it has been our mission to improve people’s lives through meaningful applications of 3D printing. It is the realization of this mission that first led us to pioneer medical image based guide technology, including solutions for the knee, and is why a collaboration with Consensus Orthopedics is a natural next step. Through this collaboration we are further positioned to help even more surgeons discover the benefits that 3D printing can offer in the planning and execution of total knee arthroplasty.”
Consensus, which has over 20 years of experience in orthopedic design and manufacturing, will now use the Knee Guide System and brings its benefits to surgeons and patients worldwide.
Colleen Gray, President and CEO of Consensus declared, “Materialise is providing Consensus with a unique and differentiated product. The ability for our surgeons to pre-operatively plan and use patient-specific guides based on their patients’ MRI allows for more predictable surgical outcomes. Consensus is excited to team with Materialise and deliver innovative solutions for the orthopedic market.”
It was only late last year that Materialise developed and tested its novel technology that uses 2D X-ray’s to prepare 3D data that could be used to print guides and implants. It successfully used the technology in a total knee replacement operation to prove its benefits in pre-surgical planning. Now that technology will become available to medical device and implant manufacturers worldwide, with the Knee Guide System that is being used in Europe, and now, in the USA.
