4WEB prints a custom porous intercalary implant

4WEB4WEB Medical’s 3D printed patient specific implant (OnlineTMD)

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Truss-like implant completes first Australia 3D printed patient specific implant; expands its custom implant offering internationally.

Brisbane, Australia – 4WEB Medical, a leading global provider of 3D printed orthopedic implants, is pleased to announce its first Australian patient specific implant surgery. Supported by 4WEB’s Australian partner, LifeHealthcare, the 4WEB patient specific segmental bone defect procedure was completed this week in Brisbane, AUS. “The ability to customize the truss implant to match the unique anatomy of an individual patient is a significant advancement in orthopedics. Current porous metal technologies rely on bone attachment which has shown some drawbacks over time. The open architecture truss implant technology provides a robust scaffolding for structural support while allowing for osseous incorporation,” said Matt Muscio, COO, LifeHealthcare.

4WEB Medical utilizes additive manufacturing to produce the patient specific truss implants. The design and fabrication process includes surgeon participation in a live web-based planning meeting with 4WEB engineers to discuss the current patient condition and proposed surgical plan. Using 3D software reconstructions of the patient’s anatomy acquired from a CT scan, the surgeon is able to plan bone resections. The 4WEB engineers then design a custom truss implant to fill the void left by the resection. Following surgeon design approval, the patient specific device is 3D printed and implanted with unprecedented anatomical precision.

“We are very excited about 4WEB’s first Australian patient specific implant procedure,” said Jessee Hunt, 4WEB president and CEO. “While this is our first custom implant procedure completed in Australia, 4WEB has completed nearly 100 custom truss implant procedures performed worldwide dating back to 2011. 4WEB has produced patient specific implants in a variety of orthopedic procedures such as spinal fusions, hemi-pelvectomies, distal tibial osteotomies, humeral and femoral segmental bone defects, ankle revisions, sternectomies, as well as many others.”

4WEB Medical is an implant device company founded in 2008 by President and CEO Jessee Hunt in Frisco, Texas. Thirty years of research in topological dimension theory led to the discovery of a novel geometry, the 4WEB, that can be used as a building block to create high-strength, lightweight web structures. Hunt leveraged this breakthrough along with 3D printing technology to develop 4WEB Medical’s proprietary truss implant platform. 4WEB Medical offers comprehensive surgical solutions to neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, and foot and ankle surgeons.