Modern joint replacements are an effective treatment for patients suffering from debilitating joint conditions. 400,000 hip replacement surgeries are performed each year in North America, and 10 percent of those hip replacements need to be removed and replaced in a patient’s life time.
ENGINEERING.com toured the show floor of the Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show (CMTS) 2015 to learn more about what companies like Renishaw Canada are doing to ease patients’ suffering through manufacturing more efficient prostheses.
Typical reasons for a hip implant needing to be removed include issues such as a loosening of the implant itself, due to weakening of the surrounding bone. It’s difficult for patients and doctors to notice when loosening starts to occur as pain isn’t felt initially.
Once a patient does start experiencing pain, x-ray scans are used to verify the condition of the implant.
Using additive manufacturing, the University of Western Ontario recently developed a 3D printed hip implant that utilizes sensor technology to monitor the device. Doctors can communicate with a receiver located within the implant for easy assessment.
Current prototypes have been produced using plastic, but final products will be additively manufactured by companies like Renishaw using metal printed in a lattice structure for greater stiffness and strength to match that of the patient’s bones.
“This is an example of how 3D printing is going to change the face of medical devices,” Mark Kirby, additive manufacturing business manager at Renishaw Canada, told ENGINEERING.com. “If you were going to have a hip implant, do you want a dumb implant or do you want a smart implant? I think this is going to be unstoppable.”
Current concerns behind the technology inside the implants include worries of surveillance devices that can track your location or compromise other personal information.
Kirby counters that perception: “Some people think this is a tracking device; it’s not. It’s going to be used to make sure the implant works properly so patients won’t need revision surgery. Imagine what the savings would be if we did 50,000 fewer hip replacement surgeries every year.”
Research and testing is currently underway to prepare the implants for medical use. To learn more, visit eng.uwo.ca.