Personalised bone implants

To improve the quality of life of patients while reducing health care costs, personalised, cost-effective implants are needed. Another critical aspect that needs to be addressed is developing a faster manufacturing route.

With EU funding support, the IMPLANT DIRECT (Implant direct) project used selective laser melting (SLM) technology and developed suitable process and software solutions to cost-effectively produce tailored joint implants.

The process chain incorporating design software, web platform and SLM production was successfully pre-clinically validated through testing on pigs. Using IMPLANT DIRECT's innovative software solution, surgeons designed the implant shape for 12 pigs from their computed tomography scan data. Via computer-aided design (CAD), surgeons reviewed and finalised the 3D implant design prior to manufacturing. Flexible SLM processes such as additive manufacturing (AM) were used to cost-effectively manufacture titanium medical implants.

Consortium members successfully developed an integrated supply chain solution for the manufacture of patient-specific hip implants within seven days. A major bonus is the flexibility and rapidity of the design with the CAD-AM process. Project partners are now considering working on a follow-up project to further optimise their product prior to commercialisation.

The IMPLANT DIRECT approach could potentially lead to an annual savings of billions of euros for Europe's health care system while improving patient outcomes and quality of life. This should also enhance the competitiveness of participating businesses as the global orthopaedic implant market is worth billions of euros.