Implants are needed everywhere in the body to treat injuries. After accidents, it is sometimes necessary to close the top of the skull again, one or more ribs have to be removed when treating lung tumors and a fracture of the upper arm has to be screwed back together using plates.
These implants are currently produced commercially by external manufacturers, are cost-intensive and are not patient-specific or perfect-fit. The innovative technologies of 3D printing can solve these problems, but must first be adapted to the highly sensitive requirements of human medicine.
The FFG-funded COMET K project CAMed (Clinical Additive Manufacturing for Medical Applications) is tackling these challenges and has set itself the goal of establishing 3D printing for implants, models and tools in order to significantly improve patient treatment.
