Advances in 3D Printed Titanium Implants For Personalized Medical Treatment

In the medical industry, 3D printed titanium implants have been successful in spine, hip, knee, and extremity applications because of the metal's inherent biocompatibility and good mechanical properties, coupled with the ability to customize porous structures with 3D printing (resulting in osseointegration) and mass-customization for better patient outcomes.3D printed titanium implants are gaining regulatory approvals and demand, and since most medical implants are manufactured to cover a large number of people with the same condition, they are not suitable for everyone and people with rare diseases are often excluded. Now, with 3D printing, it is possible to produce implants specifically designed for individual patients.

In 2023, a surgeon in the United Kingdom performed four wrist surgeries on the same day, using patient-specific 3D-printed titanium plates to correct previously fractured wrist deformities. Dr. Akshay Malhotra, Consultant Plastic Surgeon and Clinical Lead for Hand and Wrist said, "Once this planning process has been completed, the custom plates will be printed using titanium powder, then tested, shipped to the UK and sterilized at the County Hospital in preparation for surgery." Doctors at Manipal Hospital in India used 3D-printed titanium when they saw a cancer patient in 2022 whose tumor was destroying the chest cavity. Typically, implants of this size are too heavy for the human body to handle, but because titanium is lightweight, it weighs less than 250 grams, making it ideal for printing implants implanted into the human body and the patient made a full recovery after a success of the 3D printed implant and was able to resume a normal life without having to rely on external machines to help with breathing.

In a series of trials using a patient-specific 3D printed titanium talus for ankle bone replacement surgery, positive results have been obtained, bone replacement means that the patient does not need a complete ankle replacement, the talus is a patient-specific anatomical feature that requires a 3D part to be uniquely designed based on the patient's CT scan data. The U.S. FDA approved 3D-printed titanium implants in 2023, primarily covering spinal implants.