Sep 23, 2014
3D printing company Materialise announced that orthopedic surgeon Roger Jaeken, of the AZ Heilige Familie (Holy Family General Hospital) in Reet, Belgium, has successfully performed the first total knee surgery that was preplanned by means of the Materialise X-ray knee guide solution. This new proprietary technology from Materialise allows for the preplanning of knee replacement surgeries as well as the 3D printing of related surgical guides, solely on the basis of 2D X-ray images.
Until now, the technology that combines the surgical planning of total knee replacements in a virtual 3D software environment with the 3D printing of corresponding patient-specific surgical guides required the availability of CT or MRI scans of the patient's knee. These imaging modalities are only used in a minority of all knee replacement surgeries. Materialise, the pioneer of the widely used CT and MRI based knee guide technology, has now developed the next generation of total knee replacement surgical planning and guiding tools, which actually turn 2D X-ray images into 3D information and solutions. 2D X-ray images are generally available for all total knee replacement cases.
"I'm very excited to be part of this development project." Dr. Roger Jaeken states. "The ability to work from X-ray images will make the surgical preplanning process even more efficient. This is because, in many instances, patients will no longer have to undergo an often time-consuming CT or MRI scan, lead times will become shorter, and more cases will become eligible for preoperative planning."
Dr. R. Jaeken, Reet, Belgium
"At Materialise, we initiated the R&D program that is at the source of our new X-ray based technology shortly after the successful introduction of our CT/MRI based guide technology. The reason for this is our continued drive to stay one step ahead of the industry," says Fried Vancraen, the company's CEO. "We consider the first treatment of a patient with our X-ray technology as an important landmark in this development program."
Materialise intends to continue evaluating the X-ray based knee guide technology, starting with a limited release of the product in Europe, before then initiating the regulatory clearance process in the US.
Posted in 3D Software
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