3D Printed Hip Prosthesis Loosening Will No Longer Be a Problem

In recent years, in the field of prosthetics and other medical device manufacturing, 3D printing has brought a lot of influence. A research team from Delft University of Technology has recently developed new metamaterials with a unique combination of important properties that opens up the future of 3D printed hip implants. A joint prosthesis manufacturer shares with you.

Loosening of implants is one of the issues that may affect the long-term effectiveness of medical devices, especially implanted devices in the hip area. By 2020, the number of hip joint prostheses worldwide is expected to reach 2.5 million per year, and according to current technology, about 10% of the prostheses will loosen the implant within 10 years after surgery.

Biological metamaterials are so-called biomedical variants of metamaterials that can show features that do not exist in nature. The material developed by Delft University of Technology can be stretched and deformed. The secret is that they have a negative Poisson's ratio, which means that they become more perpendicular to the applied force when stretched. The super-biological material with simple geometric design and titanium metal printing shows the unique expansion of mechanical properties under pressure.

The 3D printed hybrid prosthetic hip implant incorporates one material that becomes thicker when stretched and the other thinner. This double Poisson's ratio combination will help bone growth around the implant, meaning that the implant will hold well.

This implant has not been clinically tested. So far, tests have only been performed on special foams that mimic the mechanical properties of bone, a type of bone, and have been implanted for vertical compression. This force is similar to the stress to be applied to a human implant. Due to this pressure, the new implant swells, causing compression around the bones on both sides. When the implant is ultimately used in the human body, it is this compression that will ensure improved implant fixation.

Our company provides Complex Primary Knee prosthesis.