Additive Manufacturing in the Medical Industry

These implants are used during a hip replacement surgery most commonly needed to treat arthritis, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. AddUp’s FormUp 350 can build 34 hip implants in only 12 hours thanks to a 350mm squared build plate and 4-laser capabilities. These implants are created with out support structures on the underside, drastically reducing the amount of post processing needed and material used.

The tibial tray is an important part of the implant needed for a knee replacement surgery. When additively manufactured, this component of the implant provides improved osseointegration which results in better patient outcomes after surgery. The FormUp 350 can build 22 tibial trays in only 17 hours. These implants are printed with minimal supports which greatly reduces the amount of post processing needed, reducing overall costs for the device manufacturer.

Shoulder implants are a critically important part of preserving shoulder function. Every patient’s shoulder joint has unique characteristics, and the ability to customize implants is a significant advantage of AM. AM allows for the customization of these implants to be designed and manufactured specifically tailored to an individual patient’s anatomy while including intricate internal structures and porous surfaces for better integration with the surrounding bone.

Spinal fusion joins two or more vertebrae together using bone graft inside of a titanium implant. This surgery can treat disorders like degenerative disc disease, scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, and fracture. AddUp has extensive experience creating spinal implants of varying sizes with unique break-away support structures. This combined with the productivity achievable on the FormUp 350 provides reduced costs for medical device manufacturers. The FormUp 350 can print 152 large spinal implants is just 32 hours.

Patient Specific Implants (PSI) are implants that are made from a patient’s CT scan data moved into a CAD file and then additively manufactured. PSIs are typically too complex to machine and cut, therefore they are ideally made through AM. AddUp has experience in manufacturing patient specific ankles, shoulders, and spinal fusion devices. The FormUp 350 has a large build plate providing the ability to print many different implants of varying shapes and sizes on the same build. The ability to manufacture multiple individual surgical cases on a single build plate streamlines the process from the manufacturing site to the hospital. This can provide each patient with a completely tailored implant that meets their unique needs while reducing surgery costs and recovery times.