The LithaBone HA 480 for 3D-printed bone replacements has been announced by Lithoz.
The material, a bioresorbable ceramic bone graft substitute,
was developed in ‘intensive collaboration’ with users of previous Lithoz bone graft substitute products, according to the company.
However,
this material is said to have significant improvements in mechanical properties,
higher wall thickness, possible geometries, lattice structure size, and processability.
LithaBone HA 480 from Lithoz allows for significantly higher wall thicknesses than previous Lithoz bone replacement materials
, ranging from 1.6 mm to 10 mm, while also demonstrating
“strongly reduced over polymerization with an improved depth of cure to achieve a more stable manufacturing process.’
The company also claims that the LithaBone HA 480 has a tenfold longer shelf life and allows for easier-to-clean parts,
resulting in greater availability and faster processes.
KLS Martin,
a German medical company has been using 3D-printed bone substitute implants since 2015 and has already used the LithaBone HA 480.
A growing trend in 3d printing
Medical 3D printing has seen a lot of use in the last couple of years.
The technology can be used to create not only large structures but also tiny ones as small as our blood vessels, which could one day be used to treat heart and circulatory system diseases.
While these are applications that may occur shortly,
Cerhum, based in Belgium, uses technology that is not only available today but has also been approved for use in European patients.
Inside our bodies, chemicals such as Hydroxyapatite (HAP) and Tri-Calcium Phosphate are used to build bones (TCP).
Our bone cells produce these chemicals, which are then shaped into desired configurations based on the location of the bone.
Surprisingly, these chemicals can also be mass-produced very cheaply using controlled chemical reactions.
Cerhum has not only figured out how to manufacture high-quality chemicals but also how to use them to 3D print bones.
The benefits of using the company’s technology include faster healing and rehabilitation, according to the company. The material used has been clinically tested, but the 3D-printed structure is always patient-specific.
