3D planning and 3D printed implants aim to enhance predictability of clinical outcomes for patients with severe shoulder defects
Materialise, a developer in medical 3D planning and printing solutions, has recently announced a collaboration with Exactech, a developer and producer of innovative implants, instrumentation, and smart technologies for joint replacement surgery, to provide advanced treatment options for patients with severe shoulder defects. Exactech will include the Materialise Glenius solution in their portfolio, enabling surgeons to help patients with personalized implants in Europe and Australia.
Shoulder replacements account for approximately 60 percent of orthopedic extremity procedures and represent one of the fastest-growing markets in orthopedics. With increasing expectations of patient satisfaction, surgeons are looking for treatment options to improve clinical outcomes even for challenging cases. Orthopedic surgeons can leverage Materialise’s personalized implants to treat patients with substantial glenoid bone loss for whom standard and augmented reverse shoulder implants would not lead to sustainable results.
“By including the Materialise Glenius implant into our existing offering, we’re providing surgeons in Europe and Australia access to an even more extensive shoulder portfolio,” said Chris Roche, Exactech Sr. Vice President, Extremities. “We are happy to partner with Materialise to bring greater personalization and additional artificial intelligence technology to shoulder reconstruction.”
Materialise’s Clinical Engineers design each Glenius implant based on the patient’s unique anatomy using 3D data, simulation, and artificial intelligence. Optimizing the fixation and stability of the implant while maximizing bone preservation aims for more predictable clinical outcomes in the most challenging eroded glenoid scenarios.
“Demand is growing in the orthopedic industry for personalization of medical devices,” said Brigitte de Vet, Vice President, Medical at Materialise. “Medical device companies adopt mass personalization by starting with high-value use cases and moving towards more high-volume applications. Materialise is dedicated to enabling researchers, engineers, and clinicians to revolutionize patient-specific treatment that improves clinical outcomes.”
Materialise helps clinicians and medical device companies with implants, surgical guides, software, and other 3D technologies to provide mass personalization to patients around the world.