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Medical

Every patient deserves unique solutions.
Bioinert or bioresorbable implants offer superior biocompatibility and achieve a perfect custom fit. Thanks to these unique properties, ceramics printed using LCM technology have countless possibilities as applications in the medical field.

Our Recommendation

CeraFab S65 Medical

LithaCon

Zirconia

LithaBone

Hydroxyapatite / TCP

LithaCon

Alumina

LithaBone

Alumina
When it comes to health, there can be no compromise. Whether it's implants, medical equipment or surgical instruments: in medicine, only the highest possible precision can be accepted. And that's exactly why we created the CeraFab S65 Medical.

We at KLS Martin have been producing jaw implants (CMF implants) for human use on our Lithoz CeraFab printer since 2015, achieving the best possible results in terms of accuracy of fit, tolerability and healing success.

Frank Reinauer, Senior Director Division Implants, KLS Martin Group

Applications

LithaBone HA 480 for 3D-printed bone augmentation

Thanks to intensive cooperation with users of previous bone substitute ceramics, Lithoz developed the new LithaBone HA 480. 3D-printed parts made of hydroxyapatite are outstandingly resorbable, and thanks to important improvements they are ideally suited for bone replacement in the medical field:

- Significantly improved mechanical stability for dimensionally stable bone replacements

- Significantly increased geometric flexibility

- Significantly higher wall thicknesses of up to 10 mm

- 10-fold longer shelf-life

LithaBone HA 480

Silicon nitride

This unique material found its way from the aerospace industry to the medical industry due to its high strength, good biocompatibility and osseointegrative properties. Furthermore, silicon nitride shows antibacterial properties and as such can reduce the infection risk and thus periimplantitis.
Silicon nitride is used in the medical industry for orthopedic applications e.g. spinal fusion surgery.

LithaNit 770

High-performance ceramics for medical devices

The intracardiac pump made of bioinert aluminum oxide supplies the heart with blood after a heart attack or heart surgery. The application was developed by TU Wien and the Medical University of Vienna.

The alumina material used, LithaLox HP 500, is characterized by high mechanical strength and wear resistance as well as low surface roughness (Ra = 0.4 µm). This can reduce the formation of blood clots. The pump is driven by helium and ensures blood supply during the healing phase without electric current, which should prevent thermal damage to the surrounding tissue.

Bioinert high-performance ceramics with perfect surface quality can, for example, minimize cell interaction on components with direct blood contact and prevent blood clotting.

Bioresorbable patient-specific implants for bone replacement

A car accident resulting in a craniocerebral trauma might result in the need of pressure relief surgery (trepanation) to save the patient’s life. The cranial bone area removed must be replaced:


3D printing offers the possibility to produce patient-specific bioresorbable implants for faster healing. Furthermore, 3D printing allows the creation of an interconnected pore network where the size and shape of pores can be specifically designed to best support the healing process. Cells can enter these pores and form new blood vessels, subsequently encouraging resorption of the implant and the regeneration of native bone tissue. All this can be done without harming any animals as the materials are of non-animal sources and thus are vegan.

Scaffolds (lattice structures) with defined shapes and pore sizes

This interconnected pore network for optimized cell ingrowth was printed using LithaBone HA 400 (hydroxyapatite), which was specially developed for medical applications.

With Lithoz's LCM technology, ceramic scaffolds can be created which replicate the complex structure of trabecular bone. This makes these implants lightweight and yet still mechanically resilient. They degrade in the body during healing and are replaced by the body's own bone over time. The supply of blood vessels accelerates the healing process - nutrients can reach the new cells, and metabolic products can be removed and excreted. 

By means of LCM, implants with highly precise and reproducible macroporosities can be produced and equipped with a defined surface texture, which decisively improves the cell adhesion of the osteoblasts.

3D-printed implants
for the perfect fit
Recommended printer

CeraFab S65 Medical

The only LCM printer you will need for medical applications. From patient-specific implants to the series production of surgical instruments with complex structures, there is no compromise when it comes to absolute precision in medicine.

Recommended Material

LithaCon

Zirconia

The unique properties of zirconia, such as its biocompatibility and exceptional strength, make it very successful in the field of medicine. With Lithoz's LCM 3D printers, zirconia opens up entirely new possibilities for lattice structures, undercuts and channels.

Recommended Material

LithaBone

Hydroxyapatite / TCP

For total healing, LithaBone provides an innovative solution. The combination of resorbable material and defined macroporous geometries enables cell ingrowth and, consequently, both new vessel and bone regeneration.

Recommended Material

LithaNit

Silicon nitride

Our specialist for extreme conditions.. This flexible slurry, based on beta-SiAlON ceramic, can withstand even the harshest conditions thanks to its high strength, toughness, thermal shock resistance and chemical resistance to corrosion.

Do you Agree that every patient deserves biocompatible custom solutions?
Contact us today!
Something different in mind? Discover our other 3D printers!

CeraFab System S25

Our Materials at a Glance

Materials for medical applications

Hydroxylapatite

Tricalcium phosphate

Silicon nitride

Contact our Experts
Our experts will be happy to advise you on all questions relating to your medical applications.