Abstract
Additive Manufacturing (AM) is rapidly gaining acceptance in healthcare. Computer-assisted planning of surgical procedures, fabrication of anatomical 3D models, and patient specific implants are well-established processes at the author’s department. Surgical planning and medical 3D printing are firmly integrated technologies in the clinical course of treatment at the University Hospital Basel.
Polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) has been observed, mainly in Cranio-maxillofacial surgery, Spine-, Neuro- and Hand surgery, as a reliable alternative to materials such as titanium for the production of patient-specific implants. The manufacture of medical PEEK implants has been limited mainly to subtractive manufacturing processes such as Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) milling. This production method leads to significant limitations as opposed to AM. 3D printing of PEEK allows construction of almost any complex geometry such as hollow implant bodies or implants in lightweight bio-mimicking design which cannot be manufactured using other technologies.
Recently, it has become possible to process PEEK in the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) method, which opens up a number of innovative options for medical-surgical use. With the latest PEEK 3D printers which are now available, inexpensive and compact production intervals for custom implants are conceivable.
Although the medical certification of this workflow is a challenge, the fabrication of patient-specific implants in the operating room in the near future could be possible. In this article, the possibilities and limitations of the production of patient-specific implants from PEEK by 3D printing methods are described, as well as the recent experiences in the field of 3D printing of PEEK implants.
This research project is based on a collaboration of the above-mentioned research institutes and the Apium Additive Technologies GmbH, Karlsruhe, Germany; Brando Okolo, Uwe Popp et al.
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Thieringer, F.M., Sharma, N., Mootien, A., Schumacher, R., Honigmann, P. (2018). Patient Specific Implants from a 3D Printer – An Innovative Manufacturing Process for Custom PEEK Implants in Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery. In: Meboldt, M., Klahn, C. (eds) Industrializing Additive Manufacturing - Proceedings of Additive Manufacturing in Products and Applications - AMPA2017. AMPA 2017. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66866-6_29
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