As part of a new centre for custom medical devices, the University of Birmingham has installed two Renishaw RenAM 500M metal additive manufacturing systems. The systems have been installed in the School of Materials and Metallurgy as part of a project to form the foundation for a healthcare partnership. The centre will bring together academia, clinical and industrial practise to speed up time to market for medical devices and improve the options available to patients.
The new facility will bring together academics from different disciplines to explore the full potential of additive manufacturing (AM) for medical devices. The University of Birmingham has several active projects to innovate new medical devices and technologies to assist recovery following disease or injury, covering various clinical remits. The team is currently working to invent a new generation of medical devices, which are both anatomically and therapeutically customised to the patient.
One project is looking at cranioplasty, a common procedure with a high infection rate. The University of Birmingham is working with a UK business, Accentus Medical, looking at applying technology to the surface of customised metal AM cranial plates to reduce the chance of infections. This project could dramatically impact patients’ quality of life.
伯明翰大学医疗保健技术学院医疗保健技术讲师Sophie Cox博士解释说：“增材制造可以提高医疗设备的设计自由。”“使用该技术，我们具有植入物几何形状和材料选择的灵活性。Renam 500m系统的安装将在伯明翰大学创建一个新的定制医疗设备中心。
Cox补充说：“我们之所以选择Renishaw，是因为它作为定制医疗设备制造商的经验。”“雷尼沙（Renishaw）在将医疗设备推向市场方面拥有丰富的专业知识。作为一所大学，我们正在努力实现ISO 13485，这已经取得了成就。这种合作伙伴关系只是活动的开始，我们将使我们的研究能力与Renishaw的专业知识保持一致，以实现对患者的增材的好处。”
“This is a really enthusing project and we are excited about the future of the industry,” explained Bryan Austin, Director and General Manager of Medical and Dental Products at Renishaw. “Through its work with the Birmingham Health Partnership, the University has access to clinical input from local hospitals. By collaborating with industrial, academic and clinical partners, it is possible to produce medical devices more quickly and at a lower cost, which will benefit patients receiving the implants.”
Source:http://www.enishaw.com/en/6150.aspx