UCSF to advance AM applications for orthopaedic surgery with INTAMSYS’ high-performance 3D printing & materials
As per a new partnership agreement, Shanghai-based 3D printing company INTAMSYS will be collaborating with the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to further advance additive manufacturing applications for orthopaedic surgery and, specifically, applications for PEEK and other high-performance materials.
INTAMSYS, which specializes in 3D printing solutions for high-performance functional materials, will deliver its AM technology to the UCSF’s EDGE Labs, a research division within the orthopaedic surgery department. The EDGE team will be supported and guided by three musculoskeletal researchers Aenor Sawyer, MD, Alexis Dang, MD, and Alan Dang, MD.
“This level of industrial grade printing has not been available at this price point,” commented Alexis Dang, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon. “We are interested in being able to prototype customized implants using high-temperature materials such as PEEK.”
PEEK (or Polyetheretherketone) is a high-performance engineering thermoplastic that offers a number of beneficial properties for a range of applications. It’s notable for its good resistance to chemicals, wear and fatigue and, especially, to temperature. The material is resistant to temperatures of up to 260°C (480°F). This high temperature resistance, however, means that it requires special, high-performance additive manufacturing systems to process.
INTAMSYS offers a range of 3D printers which were built for processing PEEK and other high-performance functional materials. Its products include the FUNMAT HT, FUNMAT PRO HT and FUNMAT PRO.
“We are very pleased to work with UCSF’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery to advance PEEK applications in medicine, as well as promoting health care cost savings in the field of orthopaedics,” said Charles Han, Chief Executive Officer of INTAMSYS. “Collaborating with surgeons to deliver the best possible patient outcomes is what drives our company.”
The UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is a national leader in patient care and orthopaedic research. Furthermore, the UCSF currently holds the title of the No. 1 in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding in orthopaedic surgery. In other words, it’s really at the cutting edge.
As always, we are eager to see how the UCSF researchers leverage INTAMSYS’ 3D printing to further advance AM’s applications in the orthopaedic field.
