health_physics Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 22 October 2014 - CSIRO, St Vincent's Hospital and Victorian biotech company Anatomics have joined together to carry out world-first surgery to implant a titanium-printed heel bone into a Melbourne man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Mike Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 That is pretty incredible. 3D printed titanium is being used in a variety of ways for implants. One of our bloggers recently reported a case of a titanium vertebra that was recently implanted. A heel, or calcaneus, is difficult because it is not only a bone, but involves multiple joints, specifically the talocalcaneal joint and proximal intertarsal joint. Both of these joints are stabilized by numerous ligaments. I'm not sure how the surgeons achieved this, but whatever they did, it seems to have worked and highlights the great potential of 3D printing in medicine. It looks like they are doing some pretty amazing work in Australia! Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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