News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Plenum, a Brazil-based biomedical company, recently adopted two Lithoz CeraFab 7500 3D printers to support the production of next-gen bone implants. The purchase and installation marks an exciting step into Brazil’s AM industry for Lithoz, an Austrian specialist in high performance ceramic 3D printing.
PrinterPrezz, a California company specializing in combining metal 3D printing, nanotechnologies and surgical expertise to design and manufacture next-generation medical devices, revealed that work is currently ongoing on new spinal interbody fusion devices in collaboration with Osseus Fusion Systems, a Dallas-based medical device company focused on spine products.
DePuy Synthes, a medical device company owned by Johnson & Johnson, has expanded its range of 3D printed interbody implants for treating degenerative spine disease with the release of the CONDUIT Interbody Platform with EIT Cellular Titanium Technology.
3D Systems has received additional 510(k) clearance for its D2P (DICOM-to-PRINT) software for the medical industry. The software, which enables clinicians to easily 3D print patient-specific anatomical models, works in tandem with 3D Systems’ 3D printers to create models for a range of medical areas, including cardiovascular, craniofacial, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, neurological and musculoskeletal applications.
Evonik Venture Capital, the VC arm of German chemicals company Evonik, has announced an investment in Meditool, a Chinese startup specializing in PEEK 3D printed implants for neuro and spinal surgery. Evonik is the lead investor in a “high single-digit million-euro” fundraising round for the Shanghai-based medtech startup.
UK-based company axial3D is taking another big step in its mission to help the healthcare sector adopt 3D printing technologies. Working with the Orthopaedic and Spinal Surgeons at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, axial3D will provide a new in-house 3D printing facility to serve Newcastle Hospitals in England.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is something of a mysterious disease. The demyelinating condition affects more than two million people around the globe—often with debilitating symptoms—yet has no known cure and the cause of the disease is still unknown. Recent research advances, including an effort from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S., are trying to better understand the disease in order to find a treatment solution.
In Santiago of Chile, Copper3D Inc., the company that develops antimicrobial materials for 3D printing, has partnered with Toylisto, an online platform to turn 2D drawings into 3D printable designs called “Art Toys”. Combining these two technologies, Copper3D and ToyListo developed these antimicrobial 3D printed toys, in a beautiful project that seeks to ease the emotional well-being and recovery of children suffering from complex illnesses and immunosuppression. These children are often placed in clinical isolation and thus have no access to conventional toys, which by their characteristics (porous polymers and complex geometries), harbor a high bacterial burden that can be very dangerous for their health.
Indiana-based medical device manufacturer Nexxt Spine has announced that its NEXXT MATRIXX Stand Alone Cervical System has been approved by the FDA, receiving FDA 510(k) clearance. The spinal solution is a stand-alone anterior cervical interbody fusion system manufactured using GE Additive’s Mlab 100R metal 3D printer.
The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) have announced they will be launching a new medical 3D printing clinical data registry in order to collect 3D printing data at the point of clinical care. The registry is expected to launch as a pilot program in autumn 2019 and is expected to bolster the advancement of clinical 3D printing.