Apr 20, 2018 | By David
Back in February of this year, the first 3D printed biodegradable artificial bone for the repair of long segment bone defect was successfully implemented, at Xijing Hospital in Xi'an, China. Xijing Hospital has been a site of many other important surgical 3D printing breakthroughs. The large porous bioceramic artificial bone was made using 3D filament-free printing (FFP) technology, by Xi’an Particle Cloud Biotechnology Co., Ltd. After 6 weeks of re-examination, the operation has now been declared a complete success. The regenerative effects on the patient’s bone defect were good, and the limbs are recovering their function well.
Long bone defects can be caused by various bone diseases or injuries, and they often fail to be effectively treated, leading to severe disability or even amputation in some cases. The Department of Orthopedics at Xijing Hospital was attempting to carry out treatment on a 44 year-old male patient, who had a right distal femur comminuted fracture, caused by falling from height. They found it difficult to achieve ideal results using traditional methods because of the extensive range of the defect, which was 6 cm (2.36 inches) in length and 3.5 cm (1.37 inches) in diameter. This irregular size meant that the resetting was difficult to position. This is what led the hospital to seek the help of Xi’an Particle Cloud Biotechnology Company.
The company’s pioneering FFP 3D printing technology, and its bioceramic composite materials which have been tested by China's National Biosafety Agency, were used to produce personalized porous bioceramic artificial bone. The shape of the bone was consistent with the patient’s distal femoral segmental bone defect.
Using 3D printing technology to treat bone defects in this way has a number of advantages, including a high level of customization, high accuracy, and efficient use of material. In the production of a porous scaffold implant for repairing bone defects, Xi’an Particle Cloud Biotechnology Company's FFP 3D printing technique is capable of precisely regulating a variety of significant parameters for bone regeneration. These include the proportion of material composition, pore size, pore structure, connectivity and porosity. The structure can be customized to realize different porosities at the micro- and macro- levels.
Another huge advantage of the technique is that it makes use of biodegradable artificial bone. This material will gradually degrade as it induces new bone formation in the patient, and will eventually be completely replaced by the new bone tissue. This significantly reduces the potential risk of problems that can arise from having foreign implants in the body for a long period of time.
Xi’an Particle Cloud Biotechnology Co., Ltd. is one of the leading global companies and R&D bases for the development of advanced materials, innovative products and intelligent equipment in the fields of bioengineering, healthcare and advanced manufacturing. The company's biodegradable artificial bone scaffold incorporates comprehensive human bionic characteristics, with a multi-scale structure, and material that has similar strength to real human bone. As well as its biodegradability, its osteo-inductive properties give it major technical advantages for orthopaedics applications. The first successful use of the technique suggests that it could now be expanded to treat more people suffering from large limb bone defects, offering a high level of individualized repair.
Posted in 3D Printing Technology
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