Is the End Near for Traditional Orthopedic Implant Makers? (MDDI)
List of 3D-Print Manufacturers in Orthopedics
Richard Hurley would like to put makers of orthopedic medical devices out of business. First, though, he wants to do business with them.
The orthopedic surgeon based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, conceived the idea for his startup software company, Conceptualiz, three years ago. Working with University of Toronto computer science professors Karan Singh and Ravin Balakrishnan, Hurley first tried to make 3-D imaging in hospitals less cumbersome and more accurate. Failing to find a market for that, he and his colleagues had a “Eureka!” moment. What if surgeons could design and produce their own patient-specific implants with iPad-compatible software and 3-D printers?
That’s the ultimate plan. Meanwhile, Conceptualiz is trying to convince orthopedic device makers that its software would reduce the time and cost it takes to bring custom-made implants to market by adding surgeons’ expertise to a design process dominated by engineers.
Hurley estimates that surgeon-designed, 3-D-printed custom implants reach the operating room in two weeks, rather than the approximate six weeks the cu...
