If you have osteoporosis in your knees, you’re probably facing knee replacement surgery. Not any more, thanks to research at the University of Bath.
Researchers at the U.K.’s University of Bath have developed a 3D-printed implant for knees. The goal? Preserve the existing knee joint.
While there are generic plates currently in use, the 3D-printed high-tibial plates are better at realigning a patient’s knee.
So how’s it done? The procedure begins with an X-ray and a CT scan of the patient’s shin bone. A surgical guide stabilization plate is then generated by using the 3D printer. This is then temporarily fitted to the patient’s tibia, using pins. Those pins are then released and two screws are inserted, creating a wedge in the bone to correct its alignment. The stabilizing plate is then put on top, and voila, the digital dream becomes reality.
University of Bath’s Richie Gill said, “The big difference is there isn’t that guesswork which is happening at the time of surgery.” He also noted, “You can do it at a sooner point in the disease progression than you can with a knee replacement.”
The UK researchers hope to make the procedure more widely available. Patients are now being recruited across south and west England, Cardiff and Oxford, to take part in a trial comparing traditional knee replacement with this technique.
Let’s hope the technique comes to America soon.