HSS OPENING 3D PRINTING LAB FOR COMPLEX, PERSONALIZED ORTHO IMPLANTS (Orthopedics This Week)
New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) will now have the capacity to do in-house additive manufacturing 3D printing facility for custom complex implants.
Italy (and now HSS)-based LimaCorporate will be the manufacturer of all devices designed and produced at this facility, which will be located near HSS on the Upper East Side. These devices are intended for the treatment of highly complex cases.
This innovative collaboration will set the stage to substantially increase the availability and speed of personalized orthopedic care for patients with complex orthopedic conditions in the United States.
Leonard Achan, R.N., M.A., A.N.P., chief innovation officer at HSS, explained OTW what types of complex cases they will be using the new 3D printing system with: “Complex cases can be anything that standard off the shelf implant systems are unable to address. In many circumstances the patients receiving these implants may have gone through many revisions in the past and they now require a specialized solution.”
“These are also cases that are incredibly challenging where patients have been living with complicated joint problems for years. The facility can also create as many as 200 custom implants a year.”
“This is a new model, enabled by Lima’s industry leading experience with 3D printing of orthopedic implants. Lima Group hopes to expand and make this model available to centers throughout the country to increase the access of custom implants to providers.”
“The opportunity for us to work together closely on creating new inventions and models for care is another reason this is important to us. This is an opportunity to treat our complex joint replacement patients more effectively with on-campus collaboration while pioneering a new model in healthcare that will drive new innovations forward.”
As for how much this will accelerate things for these patients, Achan told OTW, “Having the facility on a provider’s campus will cut down on time that was previously spent creating and shipping this type of implant. As we build this model and refine the process together, we will continue to reduce the time frame to get custom implants to providers. We also expect to develop new innovations and models together that can impact the timeline and costs associated to custom implants manufacturing in the future.”
HSS expects that the new facility will up and printing complex implants by early 2020. After that, if all goes as hoped for, then the facility will first serve regional hospitals before making the devices available to all providers in the U.S.