A 3D printing startup in the UK Orthopaedic Market

Embody Orthopaedic is a British 3D printing startup founded by Dr. Susannah Clarke, MD, whose main business is the development of a system for manufacturing customized 3D printing instruments and surgical models that can be used for knee joints and Hip surgery. The system has been extensively tested in hundreds of operations at the Charing Red Cross Hospital in London. Clarke and his company are now ready to extend their services to other hospitals in the UK.

This is obviously a very good news, because the current knee and hip replacement surgery is becoming more and more common. In the United Kingdom and Wales alone, approximately 160,000 such operations occur each year. So many operations use exactly the same tools, which obviously cause trouble in the doctor's surgery. “I noticed this when I was a Ph.D. in orthopedics at Imperial College London. I also saw examples of hip implant failures due to improper patient placement,” explains Clarke, 34. “At the time, I It is believed that 3D printing will be the ideal technology for customizing joint replacement surgery more cheaply."

To this end, in 2012 she founded Embody Orthopaedic with Professor Justin Cobb of Imperial College London and worked on developing 3D printing customization tools designed for specific surgeries. These 3D printing tools use nylon materials, which are low in cost and easy to disinfect and have few side effects. “These devices help the surgeon accurately position the joint replacement and improve recovery time,” she explained. In the past year, the system has been extensively tested at Charing Cross Hospital in London – with more than 400 surgeries – and the results have been good.

Each of these tools is customized based on each patient's CAT scan data, and the same software is used to perform a surgical alignment on the computer prior to the actual surgery and to plan the incision and bone alignment. “It can help doctors make better decisions, especially in complex situations, before the patient is anesthetized and lying down to the operating table,” Dr. Clarke said. “The bone shape and size vary greatly between patients. But the 3D printed parts we offer are perfectly matched, which reduces the cost and efficiency of the underlying problems.

Used 3D printer

In addition, their company is researching 3D printed joint implant technology. Although this means a disruption to existing medical practices and manufacturing companies, Clarke insists that her Embody Orthopaedics company will work with it instead of confrontation. So what are their biggest advantages? cost. “Our technology costs hundreds of pounds per kilogram instead of thousands of pounds, even less than current disinfection and shipping costs,” the medical doctor said. In addition, their products greatly reduce the surgeon's difficulty in surgery. These disposable tools make doctors more comfortable during the operation.


However, she also acknowledges that the marketing and promotion process is not easy. “Medical care is a very tightly regulated area, so our products and services are much more difficult to get approved than regular consumer technology,” Clarke said. The difficulty of successfully developing and marketing a new medical technology is well known. In fact, in order to balance her medical 3D printing business, Clarke even sells 3D printing time to medical practitioners who make surgical models. “This allows us to earn some revenue before the core product is ready. It also improves our relationship with our potential customer base,” she adds.

(Editor)

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