Copy to clipboard 
INKplant, a European Union H2020 funded project, has convened to face the challenge of an aging European population, and democratize new solutions.
Nineteen partners from universities, research centers, SMEs, multinational corporations and hospitals are collaborating on the INKplant project, funded by the EU with €6 million. A multidisciplinary team will work on the fusion of different biomaterials and 3D printing technologies to fabricate biomimetic implants for defects of the meniscus, osteochondral defects, palatal defects and patient-specific implants for dental and oral rehabilitation.
Specifically, to address the suffering of patients with joint defects, INKplant will develop meniscus implants and implants to repair osteochondral defects in the knee, thus avoiding the need for total joint replacement.
Lithoz is an INKplant partner. The company’s multi-material ceramic 3D printing technology, as well as their bioresorbable materials, have been used during the project to develop these implants.
INKplant will create patient-specific implants by combining different advanced biomaterials and state-of-the-art technologies. This is possible with the use of high-resolution additive manufacturing technologies (lithographic ceramic manufacturing and 3D multi-material inkjet printing) and advanced simulation and biological evaluation. The resultant implants will conform to each patient like a tailor-made suit.
The consortium includes experts from tissue engineering, biomaterials, 3D printing, standardization and bioethics. It also includes leaders in additive manufacturing such as Stratasys, and four different university hospitals, two of them among the largest in Europe (Charité Berlin and Vienna General Hospital).
