Himed/Lithoz
Lithoz has announced a long-term partnership with New York-based biomaterials specialist Himed, as the companies join forces to accelerate innovation and research into the 3D printing of medical-grade bioceramics. The partnership includes Himed’s purchase of a CeraFab S65 Medical 3D printer.
Lithoz says that after searching for a strategic partner in the United States for better access to the potential of top-level surgery specialists in the country, this new partnership forms the next logical step in the large-scale commercialisation of its 3D printing products, but also forms a pool of top researchers driving 3D printable bioceramics to the ‘next level’.
Lithoz says that the tricalcium phosphate or hydroxy apatite-based LithaBone ceramics have proven to be a ‘highly attractive’ alternative to metals used in human surgery due to the ‘excellent’ properties of biocompatibility and osteoconductivity. Lithoz says it has also received innovation study requests involving the bioceramics, such as the precision and design flexibility of its LCM technology, which it says possesses huge potential for innovation when it comes to lattice structures and achieving ideal levels of osteoconductivity.
First phase research will take place at Lithoz’s U.S. location in Troy, New York in summer 2023 by a joint team of materials scientists. A new Lithoz CeraFab S65 3D printer will be installed at the 25,000 sq. ft. facility in Long Island later in the year. Lithoz says the installation of the system will allow the company to more rapidly experiment on site and run important analytical testing at its in-house laboratory.
Read more: Lithoz and SiNAPTIC to sign strategic deal with purchase of CeraFab 3D printers at RAPID + TCT 2023
Dana Barnard, Himed CEO said: “Himed understands CaP optimisation and how to scale it for a growing market. We’ve refined many calcium phosphates to strengthen their healing potential, but most of these were targeted toward surface coatings on traditionally manufactured titanium implants. Lithoz’s remarkable 3D printing technology allows a whole new direction for our products, in which we can use CaP to its greatest advantage – as a biometric material within the implant structure itself that can be replaced by a person’s own natural bone over time.”
Lithoz CEO Dr. Johannes Homa added: “This is definitely a big milestone for our partnership, and just a first starting point for a mutual beneficial collaboration for additive manufacturing of bone replacement.”
Lithoz says that both companies believe there is still ‘much to discover’ about developing CaP materials to augment the performance of 3D printed implantable forms. According to Lithoz, the partnership represents a first step in growing the range of biocompatible materials suitable for a future that includes highly customised, patient-specific medical solutions that can be printed on-demand.
Calcium phosphates such as hydroxy apatite are used in implantable devices, bone putties, and grafting materials for their similarity to natural bone, and can aid the organic regrowth of hard tissue at the implantation site.
Himed was collaborated with different medical implant manufacturers to develop and optimise CaP powders and surface treatments for osseointegration. The company says that its partnership with Lithoz allows new opportunities for Himed in the medical 3D printing market beyond bioactive surface treatments and post processing of implants.
