Design and Manufacturing Processes
3D printing for orthopaedic surgery
Contact: Prof. Dr N. Babel, Prof. Dr S. Remmele
Partner: Dr Helmut Ersch, Orthopaedics, Agatharied Hospital
Bachelor's thesis Edith Gramotke (2021)
Various methods are currently being researched in medical technology to adapt implants to the anatomy in advance, either on virtual bone structures or using 3D-printed models.
The project developed a process for generating patient-specific 3D prints that can be used for preoperative implant adjustments. Planning before the operation shortens the operation time, as the implant shape no longer has to be optimised several times during the operation. This means less blood loss for the patient and therefore a faster recovery and a shorter hospital stay. Both the process for segmenting the CT data and for 3D printing have been optimised and evaluated in collaboration with Agatharied Hospital. To date, several operations have already been planned in this way, saving around 45 minutes of operating time according to the doctors. Edith Gramotke and Landshut University of Applied Sciences were awarded the Innovation Prize of the Scientific Society for Hospital Technology 2022(more).
Norbert Babel, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Raimund Kreis
Project partner: Dr Helmut Ersch, Agatharied Hospital
Bachelor's thesis: Nicolas Dietz (2023)
Orthoses are often used after injuries or illnesses to support the healing process. Orthoses enclose parts of the body in order to relieve and/or immobilise them.
In some cases, orthoses with standard geometries are not sufficient and must be customised to the patient. Moulds or casts on the patient can be uncomfortable or even painful due to the physical contact and the length of time the patient has to remain in a certain position.
The aim of the project is to develop methods that can be used to produce customised hand orthoses in a way that is gentle on the patient and requires as little effort as possible, possibly even directly in a medical facility. At the same time, it will be investigated whether CAD programmes can be used to model standard orthoses that can be 3D printed on demand.