The first 3D printed Jawbone!

Need a new jawbone? Now you can print one.

Belgian researchers have created a 3D-printed titanium lower jaw implant which has transformed the life of a pensioner whose jawbone had been completely destroyed by disease. The 83-year-old British woman suffered from a severe infection known as osteomyelitis – a chronic bone infection. Doctors were worried that at her age, reconstructive surgery could have caused complications, but  now, thanks to modern technology, she has a new jaw and a new lease on life.

The 3D-printed jawbone, which is made of titanium powder, was heated and infused together in layers. Once the design was created, it took only a few hours to print. The new jaw weighs slightly more than the real one.

The woman is currently gearing up to receive a set of dentures that will be attached to the implant in a follow-up procedure.

Doctors involved with the surgery believe that more 3D parts can be created specifically for patients in the near future.

Dr. Peter Mercelis says it took just two days to manufacture: “Technology has the huge advantage that is perfectly suited to create individualized pieces. And you do not need large series of ten-thousands of parts to make it economically feasible and there’s a large patient group that could benefit from a personalized implant. Because now the surgeons have to take implants off the shelf and they are only available in a certain number of sizes and they are not tailored to fit the individual patient.”

"Computer technology is causing a revolution in the medical industry," professor Jules Poukens of the University of Hasselt said in a statement. "A traditional surgery takes up to 20 hours, and the patient should definitely stay two to four weeks in the hospital. But this operation lasted four hours and the woman could go home after four days."

The technology opens other doors in the world of medicine, according to Professor Ivo Lambrichts of Biomed: “We could use the same technique, for like, for instance for hip prosthesis or knee prosthesis or elbow prosthesis and also to use this technique for a vascular surgery. I mean to have a new heart valve it could be printed and those printed valves could be co-cultured with cells to have a new heart valve.”

3D technology never ceases to amaze us!

 

Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nP1jUABA6A4 

 

Sources: https://www.actinnovation.com/innovation-technologie/premiere-mondiale-dame-agee-machoire-inferieure-imprimee-3d-4403.html,  http://www.singularityweblog.com/the-first-3d-printed-jaw-implant/, http://mashable.com/2012/02/06/3d-printer-jawbone/