AM specialist Renishaw has become a gold sponsor of North American based head and neck reconstruction organisation, Advanced Digital Technology (ADT) Foundation.
Renishaw plans to share its knowledge and expertise in digital technology with industry clinicians and scientists.
ADT Foundation is a volunteer-run organization with the aim of improving the use of digital technologies in the reconstruction of the head and neck. It wants to identify new digital technologies that can transform this area of healthcare and is the only organisation that is dedicated to this specific application, according to Renishaw.
Renishaw has been using additive manufacturing (AM) to produce patient-specific titanium craniomaxillofacial (CMF) implants. These implants are produced from digital designs based on data from CT scans.
Cost savings
‘Reconstruction is a life changing procedure for cancer patients with head and neck tumours,’ said Ed Littlewood, marketing manager of Renishaw's medical and dental products division. ‘The procedure aims to improve cosmetic and functional deficits that can otherwise lead to psychological, physical and occupational disabilities.'
‘Ultimately this could enable surgeons to treat more patients and save costs due to reduced surgery time and number of surgeries per patient,’ said Dr Dominic Eggbeer, head of surgical and prosthetic design at PDR and treasurer of the ADT Foundation. ‘Patients will also benefit as they may only require one operation and their recovery time is likely to be reduced due to the accurate fit of the implant.’
This story is reprinted from material from Renishaw, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
