Smith & Nephew shows first 3D-printed titanium hip implant

08 Mar 2016

REDAPT cup designed for use in “revision” cases, in which compromised bone makes implant fixation difficult.

Smith & Nephew, London, UK, the global medical technology business, has just showcased its new laser 3D-printed human bone implant technology – REDAPT Revision Acetabular fully porous cup featuring CONCELOC technology – at this month’s American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting in Orlando, FL, US.

The REDAPT cup is designed for use in so-called “revision” cases, in which compromised bone makes implant fixation and stability more difficult. To allow ingrowth, the additive, or 3D, manufacturing process is used to produce an entirely porous implant that mimics the structure of cancellous bone, which is spongy and less dense, allowing variable-angle locking screws to be used to enhance implant stability and minimize micromotion after surgery.

'Great potential'

“We’re excited about the creative possibilities this new manufacturing process holds for surgeons and their patients,” said Mike Donoghue, Vice President of Global Reconstruction at Smith & Nephew. “Bringing to market a 3D-printed titanium acetabular cup for difficult revision procedures is just one example of the potential of this remarkable technology.”

S&N’s CONCELOC Advanced Porous Titanium technology is an alternative to external porous coatings, such as sintered beads or fiber mesh used in other uncemented implants, to allow bone ingrowth while securing the implant in place. Successful fixation of a porous implant requires that the implant remains in steady, stationary contact with the bone as it heals and new bone grows.

For this reason, the new REDAPT cup also uses the associated REDAPT Variable Angle Locking Screws, which work within the implant’s geometry to provide both compression and a rigid construct to the acetabular shell, as well as traditional, non-locking screws.

“This fully porous cup gives surgeons flexibility in ways that simply weren’t possible before,” said Craig Della Valle, MD, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, who participated on the surgeon design team for the new REDAPT Cup. “The locking screws, screw-in trials, purpose-built liners and screw hole patterns optimized for hard-to-access areas really set it apart during a revision procedure. This cup builds on good technology and turns it into something spectacular,” added Dr Della Valle.

Smith & Nephew received Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance for the REDAPT and associated technologies in November 2015. It is currently available at select sites in the US.