Derby is a dog who was born with malformed front legs. Unsatisfied with the currently-available wheeled options to assist disabled dogs, Derby’s owner sought additional help. The result was a set of custom designed, 3D printed prosthetic legs that allow Derby to run and play, just like any normal dog.
Oreo is a Canadian dog living a pretty good life… well, now he is. A little more than three years ago, the pup dislocated his left hind knee cap (patella). That’s a pretty painful condition to be in, and the injury was bad enough that the patella was surgically removed. That solved one problem — a patella can’t be dislocated if it isn’t there at all — but created a new one as Oreo then walked with a limp that would never go away.
Fusion Implants, a spin-out company from the University of Liverpool, will use cash from The North West Fund for Venture Capital to 3D print a portion of the tibia on dogs with cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) disease. Rupture of the CCL remains one of the most common orthopedic problems seen in veterinary practices around the world. It causes hind knee pain, lameness and arthritis, if left untreated.
The last time I saw Dr Chris Sutcliffe was last summer at the International Conference on AM and 3D Printing, when he was doing his best grumpy old man impression. The grumpiness then was a result of frustrated efforts to commercialise a long running project that had seen Chris and team develop a design and manufacturing process specifically for veterinary implants. Chris’ frown has subsequently turned upside down as his vision looks set to be realized. Chris is a Director of Liverpool-based Fusion Implants, the company that is now bringing metal 3D printed canine implants to market, with the aim of supplying veterinarian surgeries with improved devices for canine knee-reconstruction that ameliorates mobility of injured or lame dogs dramatically.
Life can be tough for the creatures that haven’t reincarnated themselves to full-human status, yet. Without opposable thumbs and kick-ass forebrains, it’s almost impossible to invent new technologies or even perform basic medical care. And, so, animals are left hobbling around with fractured fins and broken beaks. Researchers at North Carolina State University’s Laboratory for Additive Manufacturing and Logistics know that nature’s cute critters are vulnerable and need humans to provide them with tender lovin’ care. So, in their pursuit of AM applications over the past ten years, they’ve saved more than a few animal lives.
The BIOFABRIS is a National Institute of S&T in Biomanufacturing of multidisciplinary,
located at the Chemical Engineering Campus of UNICAMP, character that aims to integrate computational tools, synthesis and development of new biomaterials and application of engineering techniques to obtain biomedical devices (prostheses and orthopedic orthoses) and substitutes for live biological tissues or defective or missing human organs.