Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download
ePaper created 2015-09-29, 13:02:58 | version 1.38.0
I industry news _ 3D Medical _According to the announcement made by 3D Medical Limited (3DM) in the middle of May 2015, the Company is pleased to confirm that, in an Aus- tralian first, and working with a leading oral and maxillofacialsurgeon,ithassuccessfullydeveloped a 3-D printable and customised titanium jaw joint for use in corrective jaw surgery. A 32-year-old male patient underwent a ground- breaking five hour operation at the Epworth Freema- sons Hospital in East Melbourne to correct a rare jaw deformity.Thejawdeformityhadleftthepatientwith a skewed lower face and limited jaw opening, result- ing from a missing left temporomandibular jaw joint and consequent lack of growth in the left side of the face. The patient’s severe deformity was an ideal case for 3-D printing application, enabling the corrective implanttobeperfectlyfittedtothecomplexgeom- etry of the mandible. Working closely with leading oralandmaxillofacialsurgeon,DrGeorgeDimitroulis, and leveraging global expertise from Australia and abroad, 3DM developed a customised titanium jaw jointthatwassuccessfullyimplantedintothepatient (Fig. 1). The commercialisation process not only included the design and development of the implant but also extended to 3DM gaining necessary approvals with hospitals, clinicians, healthcare suppliers and the healthinsurerwhopaidforthecostoftheprocedure. Dr Nigel Finch, Chairman of 3DM said: ‘The success- ful outcome of this procedure not only achieves a fantastic result for the patient but it also serves to validate the end-to-end business model of 3DM in designing and developing custom implants’. Follow- ing the surgery, Dr George Dimitroulis commented: ‘We are at the cross-roads of an exciting era of cus- tomisedmedicaldevicesthatwillbecomeanintegral part of healthcare in the 21st century.’ Dr Finch also said: ‘3DM expects to see an increase in cases of this typeasleadingcliniciansandhospitalsseektolever- age the data-rich medical images used in patient diagnosesbyharnessingcomputer-aideddesignand precise 3-D printing to more efficiently solve com- plex clinical problems.’_ Fig. 1_X-ray of the patient’s jaw. Australian-first 3-D printed metal jaw joint 36 I cone beam3_2015 3D Medical Limited is anAustralian company based in Melbourne.At 3D Medical,our aim is to aid medical professionals in the facilitation of im- proved clinical care,improving medical procedures, diagnostics and ultimately improving patient out- comes.3DMedicalisamedicalspecific3-Dprinting and holographic projection and data integrations provider.Our services 3D Medical Printing; EchoPixel (holographic projection technology); GestSure (in surgery image control); Mach 7 (enter- prise imaging solution provides healthcare organi- sations with the ability to archive,consolidate, access,and share medical imaging data across departments,locations and regions); and MediDATA provide medical practices the opportunity to lever- age their analytical capabilities to gain an improved understanding of the characteristics of the patients which drive their business.These new and innova- tive products leverage data already captured by conventional imaging modalities and apply it in more meaningful ways to deliver improved economic and patient outcomes. cone beam_about the company Dr Nigel Finch,Chairman 3D Medical Limited Unit 4,435Williamstown Road Port Melbourne,Victoria 3207 Austrailia info@3Dmedical.com.au www.3Dmedical.com.au cone beam_contact