“Our offerings at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting demonstrate just how mature laser-sintering is now,” said Martin Bullemer, EOS manager for medical business development. “Metal and plastics laser-sintering have clearly become enabling technologies for medical products.”
The show runs February 15-19 at the San Diego (California) Convention Center. Parts exhibited by EOS include custom surgical drill guides reflecting patient-specific geometry, bone rasp samples, and prototype stainless steel surgical tools. The latest test results for custom PEEK implant manufacturing are also available.
EOS plastic and metal laser-sintering systems allow medical designers to tailor parts specifically for doctors and patients using 3D data generated by MRI, CT, and/or CAD. Modern data preparation software in combination with laser sintering can be used to create complex geometries, porous surfaces suitable for better osteointegration or lightweight structures to promote better patient comfort.
In other news at the AAOS meeting:
–Morris Technologies Inc. announced that, in collaboration with Kapstone Medical, they will soon file with the FDA for 510(k) pre-market notification for the first DMLS-generated titanium implant.
Says Chuck Hansford, Morris vice president of the medical business unit, “We are in the final mechanical and biocompatible testing stages with a Ti 64 ELI implant made with material from EOS. We hope to submit our application before the end of the first quarter of this year.” www.morristech.com
–The FEA/CAD software of WITHIN Technologies Ltd, works in tandem with plastic and metal laser-sintering systems, such as those from EOS, to create strong, lightweight parts including innovative lattice structures.
“Additive manufacturing provides the design freedom to create components you can’t produce any other way,” says WITHIN’s Dr. Sia H. Mahdavi. “Much as CAD systems have manufacturability aids developed specifically for processes such as injection molding and casting, our software identifies the optimum solution to each design challenge and helps manufacturers maximize what laser-sintering machines do best.” www.within-lab.com
EOS
www.eos.info
MPF