Three-Dimensional Printing Technology Creates New Jaw
Three Dimensional Printing Technology Creates a New Jaw A combination of fine particle titanium powder, precision laser beams, and impressive CAD CAM technology has forever changed the life of a Belgium woman. The 83 year old, whose jawbone became chronically
Three-Dimensional Printing Technology Creates New Jaw
A combination of fine-particle titanium powder, precision laser beams, and impressive CAD/CAM technology has forever changed the life of a Belgian woman. The 83-year-old, whose jawbone became chronically infected and deformed, can now speak, chew, and breathe normally thanks to a newly implanted jawbone created by researchers in Belgium and the Netherlands. The successful operation marks the first patient-specific implant to replace the entire lower jaw.
The functional implant, printed by LayerWise in Leuven, Belgium—a company that specializes in titanium dental, facial, and spinal bone implants—was shaped to the patient’s facial structure using an MRI scan. Titanium particles were then fused together layer by layer until the shape was complete, and the resulting structure was coated in biocompatible ceramic. Support structures for dental implants were included, as well as dimples and cavities to encourage muscle attachment.
The 4-hour transplant, led by Jules Poukens, MD, DMD, of Hasselt University, Belgium, surpassed expectations. “Shortly after waking up from the anesthesia, the patient spoke a few words,” Poukens revealed of the 2011 operation, which was made public for the first time earlier this year.
The future of this life-changing technology looks bright. According to Peter Mercelis, MSc, PhD, managing director of LayerWise, “Patient-specific implants potentially can be applied on a much wider scale than transplantation of human bone structures.”
