Future Of Medical Devices Gets Brighter As Johnson & Johnson Adopts 3D Printing

Other Space and Astronomy segment, healthcare is the second sector that witnesses maximum progress and innovation every single day. Even with respect to 3D printing technology, the same stands true. 3D technology happens to be a dominant technology these days that is currently being used in manufacturing of customized dental aligners, hearing aids, and several other kinds of patient specific implants as well as craniomaxillofacial reconstruction implants as well as hip and knee replacements.

Johnson and Johnson too joined the ride recently, the company has now partnered with a number of tech giants in this fields like Materialise, Organovo, HP, Carbon, and 3D Systems, Though the 3D printed orthopedic implants from this firm have been in market for years, but it plans to expand its horizon by adopting new technologies from legends in this field. It plans to incorporate new technologies from these firms and would bring a large range of 3D printed products in market.

Several manufacturers have adopted this new technology for prototyping during design process. A subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, DePuy Synthes will soon start production of patient specific implants and instruments. Sendra, the VP of this company, adds, “We have a product line called TRUMATCH in our orthopedic segment that consists of implants and surgical guides for CMF surgery, and resection guides for knees that are personalized today. These personalized devices have complex geometries and are provided on demand for surgical applications in the CMF space and knee surgery.”

TRUMATCH CMF first makes use of CT scan, it then helps the clinical engineers in creation of patient-specific surgical guides and implants. The patient-specific implants get fixed in the patient’s body with less problems and complications. The surgical guides, on the other hand, assist the doctors in cutting a bone and locate the implant accurately. It eliminates guesswork from such complicated procedures and reduces overall surgery duration. Another advantage of this process is that it gives the doctor ability to produce complex geometries that cannot be produced with subtractive methods.