Australian 3D-Printed Ceramic Implant to Transform Bone Surgery

Image credit: The University of Sydney (used with permission)

An Australian synthetic bone innovation could transform the 2.2 million bone graft surgeries conducted around the world each year.

The 3D-printed ceramic implant, developed by The University of Sydney’s Professor Hala Zreiqat and thought to be a world-first, has been designed to minimise both complications and costs, and boost patients’ longer-term quality of life.

Using the body’s own healing processes to regenerate natural bone, the device gradually dissolves once implanted – eliminating the need for follow-up surgeries.

Professor Zreiqat said the unique scaffold was made of both mechanically strong and highly porous materials.

“We know that for doctors repairing bones as a result of trauma, our materials can fix the challenging large-bone defects, under load,” said Professor Zreiqat.

The technology can also be created to suit the individual requirements of each patient, with results from a CT scan following a trauma able to be fed into a 3D printer to produce the scaffold.

“You don’t have a fixed design. You can tailor it to exactly fit the defect. It has to be 100 percent snug,” said Professor Zreiqat.

It is anticipated that human clinical trials using the implant will commence within the next two years.

Check out this story from The University of Sydney for more information.