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A 3D-printed ceramic subperiosteal jaw implant was successfully placed in a patient for the first time ever. Fabricated in Austria, this innovation marks a significant advancement for medicine and is part of the EU-funded INKplant project comprising 19 interdisciplinary partners, led by Profactor GmbH. The project aims to create 3D-printed patient-specific implants to treat various pathologies affecting the elderly.
Lithoz, one of the partners in the project, has been researching the optimal fusion of various biomaterials with the advantages of 3D printing since 2021. The implant was developed with and built by Austrian ceramic 3D printing specialist Lithoz to address the issue of atrophic jaws, a common problem in older patients.
Made of biocompatible high-strength zirconia using Lithoz LCM technology, the implant did not require any bone augmentation and required only one procedure, reducing healing time by an estimated 75% and avoiding excess trauma for the patient. Thanks to this synergetic innovation in design and material, all the necessary surgical procedures were completed in a single operation.
The implant showed clinical stability after 60 days, representing a decisive breakthrough for the treatment of severely atrophic jaws.
The design of the customized implant was pioneered by the Centre for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering at the Medical University of Vienna in collaboration with DDr. Staudigl. During the design process, BTI Biotechnology Institute (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain) and BioMed Centre Innovation GmbH (Bayreuth, Germany) also contributed significantly with their expertise. The implant will be patented and adopted as a medical device by BioMed Centre spin-off Agensmed GmbH and will be manufactured using Lithoz 3D printers. A clinical trial is being prepared to systematically validate its efficacy.
The project INKplant has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.
Source: Lithoz
