IMPLANT DIRECT

Implant Direct

 Partecipanti

Mappa

 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'ImplantDirect will create a cost-effective, faster manufacturing route for orthopaedic, maxillofacial or trauma implants, tailored to the individual needs of patients. The overall project aims are to improve the quality of the implants, reduce the recovery time, improve the quality of life for the patients and reduce the healthcare costs. This will be achieved by allowing surgeons to personalise the implants to fit the patient and the individual trauma, thus reducing the need for revisions, the length of surgery time and the recovery time of the patient. While the technology is available and can deliver the well-recognised benefits of using personalised implants, the number of clinical cases is still limited. The main reasons that the technology has not been widely applied for treatment in hospitals, are the complexity of the delivery process, the high cost of implants and the lack of human and technological resources in the area of biomodelling in hospitals. Especially, the multidisciplinary communication among radiologists, surgeons, and biomedical engineers, which is always needed during the design and manufacturing steps of a patient specific implant. In addition, the optimal solutions and funding for investment of hardware and software are not always available. The work to be undertaken in ImplantDirect will help overcome these issues by the realisation of two key innovations: 1) An innovative software solution that will allow the surgeon to directly design the ‘best’ (not limited by existing manufacturing techniques) implant shape for his patients, based on CT-scan data, which will then allow implant creation using the flexible Rapid Manufacturing technique of Selective Laser Melting. 2) Develop the Selective Laser Melting process and post-processing necessary to deliver functional Ti6Al4V personalised implants within 3 days from receiving the designs from innovation 1.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Ageing, trauma and poor lifestyle can all contribute to weak joints that sooner or later require implants for bone support or replacement. Current orthopaedic implants require revisions with time-consuming surgeries and long patient recovery time.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

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 http://www.implantdirect-project.eu (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.