Osteopore and Maastricht UMC+ develop bone implant solution

Singapore company Osteopore International, in partnership with Maastricht University Medical Centre (UMC+) in the Netherlands, has developed a new bone implant solution that prevents leg amputations.

The new bioresorbable 3D printed cage prevents leg amputations in severe lower leg fracture patients.

Osteopore merges biomimetic tissue science with 3D printing and materials technology to produce medical implants for meeting the requirements in both tissue and bone reconstruction and restoration.

The cage aids patients in regenerating new bone cells and was successfully designed and implanted in the first patient in the Netherlands.

Produced in Singapore and developed using Osteopore’s 3D printing and materials technology, the 3D cage is made of biodegradable material. Based on a computed tomography (CT) scan of the patient’s lower leg, it is customised to the patient.

It stimulates the growth of the patient’s new bone cells within it, eventually breaks down into water and carbon dioxide and is replaced by the patient’s own regrown bone tissue.

Osteopore noted that on implanting, the patient will have complete bone regrowth as the cage is slowly replaced by the patients’ bone over the course of four months.

Furthermore, National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC) and Osteopore have entered into a collaboration to support upscaling clinical adoption and market leadership in additive manufacturing.

This allows an established healthcare model among hospitals in Singapore for increasing the success rate of local clinical cases for medical device regenerative implant solutions.

In addition, the partnership will aim to enable and develop the clinical base in adoption for 3D-printed bioresorbable implants to attain better patient outcomes and reduced healthcare costs.