The first Individual Medical Implants Laboratory in Poland equipped with a 3D printer was opened on Friday in the Technopark in Łódź. Based on computed tomography images in the laboratory, it is possible to create, among others, three-dimensional anatomical models of bones.
Thanks to this method, it is possible to create an individual implant, ideally suited for a given patient. Initially, craniofacial implants will be created in the Laboratory of Individual Medical Implants at Technopark. According to Deputy Minister of Health, Adam Fronczak, this method may be effective not only in maxillofacial surgery and ophthalmology, but also for patients operated by neurosurgeons, orthopedists and dentists.
No one in Poland has used this technology so far; There are over a dozen similar studios around the world. The authors of the method are from Lodz: the originator Dr. Marcin Elgalal and prof. Bogdan Walkowiak from the Lodz University of Technology and prof. Marcin Kozakiewicz, head of the Clinical Department of Maxillofacial Surgery at the Medical University of Lodz.
Work on its development began in 2001, and the first reconstruction treatments of the damaged orbital walls were carried out in 2007 at the hospital in Łódź. Barlicki. Currently, this type of treatment is performed in the hospital. WAM in Łódź. So far, doctors from Lodz have carried out 29 operations of implanting individual orbital implants based on models manufactured abroad.
In the Polish method, the surgeon leading the patient has to deliver an appropriately electronically processed computed tomography file to the 3D printer. The printer reads the three-dimensional image of the eye socket from the tomographic record, then maps and prints the anatomical model of the implant made of a polymeric, solidified gel. A special machine head creates a three-dimensional model layer by layer.
It is extremely accurate: one layer measures only 16 microns, which is the thickness of a quarter of a human hair; model mapping takes several hours. The polymer model serves as a model for doctors. It is on its basis that they use a special titanium mesh to reproduce the shape of the implant, which they place in the patient’s eye socket during the procedure.
In this method, we do not produce an implant directly, but a model on which we can make an implant that is an individual implant for a specific patient – told PAP Prof. Bogdan Walkowiak.
According to him, the procedure performed with this method is much shorter, the surgeon does not have to adjust the implant manually, and the patient recovers much faster and complications occur much less frequently. All patients operated on with the new method regained their full vision. When using traditional methods of treatment, corrections and reoperations are sometimes necessary – noted the scientist.
Prof. Marcin Kozakiewicz, who is currently carrying out these operations at the hospital. WAM emphasized that for doctors the most important thing in this method is that they receive a model that enables precise surgery. The treatment of orbital fractures themselves is quite complicated. Thanks to this method, we can achieve unprecedented precision, you can recreate the symmetry of the face and the precise positioning of the eyeballs. The most important thing is that patients can see well, and ophthalmic rehabilitation is faster with this method – emphasized prof. Kozakiewicz.
This method of treatment can be used by patients injured in accidents, victims of fights or wounded soldiers. Currently, in Poland, traditional anastomosis of orbital fractures is implanted in at least 300 patients a year. The cost of creating an individual implant is about PLN 2. They are financed under the existing orbital reconstruction procedures.
The authors of the method want in the future – in cooperation with doctors and hospitals from all over Poland – to start working on other anatomical structures.
Virtually everything we come up with, we are able to recreate, process and print. We are open to cooperation in the field of other anatomical structures. We had to practice on something, the bottom of the eye is a testing ground on which we practice – emphasized prof. Walkowiak.
Deputy Minister of Health, Adam Fronczak, believes that thanks to this, Polish patients will gain access to a modern method of very effective treatment of various post-traumatic lesions. In his opinion, the method may also be effective for patients operated by neurosurgeons, orthopedists and dentists. He proposed a meeting in the Ministry of Health in the spring with the president of the National Health Fund and national consultants in these areas.
We could then discuss the possibility of wide application of these implants. As we know, only in two hospitals in Lodz, these techniques have been used, and all patients must have access to this method, and we will strive for that, said Fronczak. He added that he expects that more complex and expensive models will also be produced in the future. Accordingly, it will be necessary to discuss technological options and costs.
According to the President of Technopark, Andrzej Styczeń, the creation of the Individual Medical Implants Laboratory cost about PLN 1 million. Of which 600 thousand. PLN came from EU funds. In the future, the studio will be part of one of the laboratories of the modern Bionanopark, which will be built in Technopark.
The value of this investment is over PLN 76 million, of which PLN 53 million comes from the EU. Research in the field of medicine, environmental protection, pharmaceuticals and military will be carried out at Bionanopark. Construction is to start this spring; its completion is scheduled for autumn 2013.
The Łódź Regional Science and Technology Park is a company established in 2004. Its main shareholders are: the City of Łódź, the Marshal’s Office, the University of Łódź, the Łódź University of Technology and the Medical University.
Kamil Szubański (PAP)