This study evaluates the healing success of LCM-manufactured ceramic implants in human bodies over a follow-up period of 5 years.
Manufacturers are often criticized for failing to provide clear evidence of their technology’s success in medical applications. Conducting such studies is undeniably time-consuming — and likely resource-intensive. But in a field as critical as healthcare, this kind of validation is more than necessary. Once again, ceramic 3D printing company Lithoz breaks the mold in this area.
The company shared that a “long-term clinical follow-up study” on 3D printed bioceramic patient-specific implants (PSI) delivers over 92% total success rate with its LithaBone TCP 300 tricalcium phosphate material.
For those who are not familiar with it, this material is a slurry with a base of the ceramic material beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP). Tricalcalcium phosphate (TCP) has established itself as a bone graft substitute in regenerative medicine due to excellent biocompatibility, bioresorbability, and osteoconductivity.
In this specific case, the study consisted of a minimally invasive approach where 14 patients between 17 and 57 years of age suffering from dysgnathia were treated with patient-specific implants (PSI).
The implants produced on a Lithoz CeraFab printer help to prevent antegonial notching. By delivering ideal osteoconductivity1 and osteoinductivity, they confirm their potential in reconstructing and bridging healing gaps occurring after surgical bone cutting intervention.
Dr. Johannes Homa, Lithoz CEO, emphasized the study’s fundamental importance for the entire 3D printing industry: “These results are not only about celebrating a great achievement for our Lithoz LCM technology. By clinically proving a success rate of over 92%, we’ve set a game-changing milestone in the history of surgery to establish the 3D printing of patient-specific bioceramic implants as a fully-fledged alternative alongside traditional surgical interventions.”
While the Lithoz team celebrates this milestone, the industry is already looking ahead to what’s next: moving beyond the recent 3D-printed jaw implant successfully placed in a patient, toward more real-life surgical applications of ceramic 3D printing.
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