Skip to main content

World's first 3D-printed lower jaw implant gives 83-year old patient her bite back

By


The ability to create your own replacement curtain rings, door knobs or even a custom chess set at home using a 3D printer like the Replicator or the Cubify 3D printer has the potential to knock global production models on their heads. Such advances are certainly impressive but not quite in the same league as those being made in the field of medicine. We've already seen small bone-like objects printed by Washington State University researchers, and now an 83-year old patient with a serious jaw infection has become the first person to receive a full 3D-printed titanium lower jaw implant. Amazingly, the combined effort by researchers and engineers from Belgium and the Netherlands is said to have allowed the patient unrestricted mandibular movement within a day of surgery.
The researchers say that the implant's recipient had suffered from the progressive infection for some time, which had caused a large wound on her face. Microsurgical reconstruction was considered as a possible solution, but would have meant long hours on the operating table followed by an extended stay in hospital. Removal of just the damaged bone was also an option but there would have been so little remaining in this case that the jaw could not have functioned properly. It was therefore deemed necessary to remove the entire lower mandible and replace it with an implant.
Prof. dr. Jules Poukens, Prof. dr. Ivo Lambrichts, and Dr. Ingeborg van Kroonenburgh from the Functional Morphology research group of the University of Hasselt's BIOMED research institute worked with Dr. Ir. Michäel Daenen from the Xios University College (Belgium), Prof. dr. Jos Vander Sloten from the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), Maikel Beerens from Xilloc Medical BV (the Netherlands) and engineers from the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons of the Orbis Medical Center (the Netherlands) on the design and implementation of the implant. The actual 3D-printing used additive laser melting technology and was undertaken by LayerWise NV of Belgium. Other implant production methods are said to take days before an implant is ready to be used, whereas a 3D-printed implant is ready to go in a couple of hours.
The patient-specific 3D-printed lower jaw was fabricated from titanium powder and weighs approximately 107 g (3.77 ounces), which is a little heavier than its bone equivalent. It was coated with plasma sprayed artificial bone (a hydroxy-apatite bone substitute compound) and sites for fixing future prosthetics were incorporated into the design. The patient underwent surgery in June 2011, where the inflamed mandible was removed and the custom implant slotted in. The contour of the patient's face was then restored. The patient is reported to have shown normal function the day after surgery, although full healing took longer.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Solar car hits U.S. in round-the-world jaunt

By
Last October, the SolarWorld GT solar-powered car set out from Darwin, Australia on a drive around the world. It has since driven 3,001 kilometers (1,865 miles) across Australia, logged 1,947 km (1,210 miles) crossing New Zealand and been shipped across the Pacific Ocean. This Friday, it will embark on the U.S. leg of its journey, as it sets out across America from the University of California, Santa Barbara.   The SolarWorld GT is the result of a collaboration between solar panel manufacturer SolarWorld, and Bochum University of Applied Sciences in Germany. The four-wheeled, two-door, two-seat car gathers solar energy through photovoltaic panels built into its roof, with its solar generator offering a peak performance of 823 watts. Custom hub motors are located in both of the front wheels. The vehicle manages an average speed of 50 km/h (31 mph), with a claimed top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). In order to demonstrate that solar powered cars needn't be a radical...
Post a Comment
Read more

Biocomputer, Alternative To Quantum Computers

By
A team of international scientists from Canada, the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden announced Friday that they had developed a model biological supercomputer capable of solving complex mathematical problems using far less energy than standard electronic supercomputers. The model “biocomputer,” which is roughly the size of a book, is powered by Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) — dubbed the “molecular unit of currency.” According to description of the device, published in the  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , the biocomputer uses proteins present in all living cells to function. It uses a strategy similar to that of quantum computers, which use qubits — the quantum computing equivalents of bits — to perform “parallel computation,” wherein  computers are able to process information quickly and accurately by performing several calculations simultaneously, rather than sequentially. In the case of the biocomputer, the qubits are replaced with ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Qualcomm showcases the Snapdragon S4 ahead of Mobile World Congress

By
We’ve already heard about Qualcomm’s latest processor, the Snapdragon S4 , which will be quad-core and utilize LTE. Qualcomm took the time to give us some details ahead of Mobile World Congress. The new SoC now supports up to three cameras (two in the back for 3D and one front-facing), 20-megapixels, and recording video at 1080p (30fps). We can also expect zero shutter lag, 3A processing (autofocus, auto exposure and auto white balance), and improved blink/smile detection, gaze estimation, range finding and image stabilization. Last but not least, it supports gesture detection/control, augmented reality , and computer vision (via Qualcomm’s FastCV). Hit the break for a couple of videos featuring image stabilization and gestures.
Post a Comment
Read more