Sheffield healthcare firm to offer 3D printed implants though Mobelife partnership

Sheffield healthcare company JRI Orthopaedics has formed a new partnership with one of the world’s largest providers of 3D printing services.

Under the new collaboration, JRI Orthopaedics will supply patient specific, 3D printed hip and shoulder implants for cases involving bone and joint reconstruction surgery.

The company has teamed up with Materialise firm Mobelife to offer its aMace Acetabular Revision System and Glenius Shoulder Glenoid Revision Component to orthopaedic surgeons throughout the UK.

These systems are usually used where failure of an implant used in an earlier joint replacement procedure has resulted in significant bone loss which cannot be reconstructed with a standard, off-the-shelf implant.

A CT scan of the patient’s pelvis or shoulder is used by Belgium-based Mobelife to create a virtual model of their anatomy and a computer generated plan for a personalized implant, which is checked with the surgeon before being 3D printed.

Michael Colling-Tuck, hip product manager at JRI Orthopaedics, said: “The application of 3D printing technology is one of the most exciting developments in world orthopaedics. We have expanded from off-the-shelf implants to customized solutions manufactured for a specific patient’s bone anatomy.

“This enables us to help patients with bone defects in the hip and shoulder which might, in the past, have been impossible to reconstruct.

“JRI was founded on innovation. We were the first company in world orthopedics to produce a hip implant with a Hydroxyapatite coating enabling a biological bond between the patient’s bone and the implant, providing for a long-term secure fixation.

“We are always striving to develop and embrace new technology and approaches which will improve outcomes for patients requiring joint replacement surgery, to give them a better quality of life for longer.

“So we are delighted that this partnership allows us to be at the forefront of the medical application of 3D printing.“

JRI Orthopaedics, which employs 115 people at its manufacturing facility in Chapeltown, has specialises in the design, development and manufacture of orthopaedic implants and surgical instruments.

The customized Mobelife solution will be added to JRI Orthopaedics’s existing product portfolio for lower and upper limb joint reconstruction, which includes the Furlong total hip replacement system and the VAIOS Shoulder replacement system.

Mobelife NV was founded as part of the Materialise Group. As an integral part of Materialise’s medical applications, Mobelife’s goal is to serve and assist healthcare providers directly by a completely customized product development process for patient-specific orthopedic implants.

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