
LimaCorporate, an Italian medical device company specializing in reconstructive orthopedic implants, is currently creating the first on-site 3D printing facility at a hospital. Recently, the company confirmed that the construction process was underway at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York. The two confirmed their partnership in January of this year, and now plan to have the new facility up and running in 2020. This LimaCorporate center is expected to serve hospitals in the region prior to expanding across America.
HSS has been using customized implants from LimaCorporate’s Italian center for three years. LimaCorporate has been using additive manufacturing techniques since 2007 to make high end 3D printed implants using Electron Beam Melting (EMB) on GE Additive’s Arcam systems. These implants leverage the Trabecular Titanium biomaterial, which is designed to enhance both vascularization and cell migration. This technology increases the movement of oxygen, ions, nutrients, and bone inducing factors, ultimately improving the formation of new bone and acceptance of the new implant. Their titanium hip cup made in this fashion has proven to stay effective 10 years after implantation.
“HSS and Lima had been working very successfully together on multiple projects under a Master Development Agreement since March 2016,” said Leonard Achan, Chief Innovation Officer at the Hospital for Special Surgery. “At the same time, Lima had placed a strategic emphasis on building its ProMade custom implant business, a market segment that can benefit greatly from use of additive manufacturing and that is fairly underserved in the orthopedic industry.”
This partnership will greatly help physicians provide care to their patients, being that they will have access to the LimaCorporate additive manufacturing devices right in the hospital. This 3D printing center will be located in HSS’s main facility on the Upper East Side of New York City, combining LimaCorporate’s experience with medical technologies with HSS’s knowledge in clinical care. This close collaboration between the two is expected to spawn innovation in orthopedic procedures and yield new solutions and products.
“Because of the closer proximity of Lima engineers in the U.S. we anticipate increased interaction between clinicians and designers and a faster design process for each custom case,” said Achan. “By fabricating in NYC, it is expected that these devices will avoid time-consuming international transfers and shipping.”
“Finally, leveraging Lima’s competency in additive manufacturing will help minimize the need for more time-consuming conventional fabrication methods, allowing for quicker turn-around of devices.”
Achan concluded that he expects the partnership between HSS and LimaCorporate to lead to novel breakthroughs in joint replacement procedures.
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About LimaCorporate
Limacorporate SpA is a privately owned, multinational Italian company focusing in orthopedics and traumatology. The company has been providing implantable prostheses for hips, knees, shoulders, and small joint arthroplasties for over 60 years. Their Trabecular Titanium technology involves creations of full implants through electron beam melting of titanium powder. LimaCorporate has 845 staff worldwide, 21 distributors, 2 production plants, and 24 subsidiaries.
LimaCorporate Heads First 3D Printing Site on Hospital Campus to Address Complex Custom Orthopedic Implants https://t.co/ILUPFmkmaF #3dprinting #CustomImplants #HSS #innovation #LimaCorporate #medtech #orthopedics #orthopaedics #PatientSpecific #PersonalizedCare pic.twitter.com/Cr46ZGs3Is
— OrthoFeed (@OrthoFeed) January 7, 2019