The special product requirements

Medicine is about providing the best possible care for patients, but not at any price. If you want to be successful in this tough business, you have to break new ground. More and more companies are focusing on patient-specific forms of treatment in combination with additive manufacturing. This is also the case for an American medical product provider specializing in the reconstruction of foot bones.

Accidents or diseases are the main reasons why a foot bone has to be replaced by an implant. This is a particularly problematic situation in cases of irreparable ankle trauma. In order to avoid stiffening of the ankle joint or even amputation, an implant is used to completely or partially replace the talus bone. This allows patients to regain full functional freedom of movement in the ankle joint. It is important for the success of the treatment that the implant is available as quickly as possible and fits perfectly. Several hundred of these patient-specific talus implants are produced at FIT every year on behalf of the medical device supplier.

FIT solution

The talus implant product family is manufactured at FIT as customized series products. We call this solution ADM-CV. Based on the specified anatomical data, the patient-specific implants are manufactured from titanium gr. 5 using Electron Beam Melting (EBM or PBF-EB/M), highly polished, and are finally shipped to the customer. Especially in combination with this manufacturing process, titanium ensures excellent component properties. The entire manufacturing process is carried out under thorough quality control, thus guaranteeing maximum safety and quality.

Each implant is shipped to the USA as a so-called PSI kit (Patient Specific Implant Kit). The implant is supplemented by a perfectly matching trial implant. This tool, which is produced at FIT from PA 12 using selective laser sintering (SLS or PBF-LB/P), allows surgeons to prepare for implantation in the best possible way and to perform the operation as efficiently as possible.

If you wish to learn more details about the production of talus implants, we recommend you read our process use case.

Outstanding properties

Thanks to the PSI kits manufactured by FIT, consisting of the additively manufactured implant and the 3D-printed trial implant or, if required, a patient-specific drill and cutting guide, our customer benefits from the following advantages:

• Fast availability of the implant, which is available for surgery after 7 working days from the time the data is received.
• High fitting accuracy, as all implants are precisely matched to the patient's anatomical features.

Based on many years of cooperation, it has now been possible to establish reliable data confirming the positive effect of these implants on patients and hospitals. For example, the following improvements have been achieved (all data are provided by the marketing company):

• Shortened osseointegration. The special design of the bone contact surfaces accelerates the ingrowth of the implant into the surrounding bone.
• Significant pain relief for patients. The patient-specific talus implant reduces the pain score on the visual analog scale from 7.1 to 3.9.
• Reduced surgery times. Due to improved surgical planning, patient-specific talus implants can be performed an average of 19 minutes faster per procedure, which equates to a cost savings of approximately $1,200 per surgery.

In sum, the patient-specific talus implant, which recently received HDE approval from the FDA, is convincing across the board.

FIT offers you a complete service for the manufacture of your implants. With us, you will find everything you need to have customized implants for hips, foot and finger bones, elbow or jaw joints manufactured quickly, absolutely safe, and at attractive conditions. So don't take any risks and rely on an experienced specialist when it comes to the additive manufacturing of patient-specific implants made of titanium.