DeFelice envisions going beyond the OsteoFab™ Patient Specific Cranial Device to make 3D-printed bone replacements for all parts of the human body. His company has already begun preparing to submit other 3D-printed bone parts for FDA approval — a huge market worth as much as $50 million to $100 million for each bone replacement type.
"If you can replace a bony void in someone's head next to the brain, you have a pretty good platform for filling bony voids elsewhere," DeFelice told TechNewsDaily.
Oxford Performance Materials adapted EOS P800 printing technology to use a special polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) material that has proved suitable for human implants. The company runs a biomedical-compliant manufacturing facility in South Windsor, Conn., that can print bone replacements fitted for specific patients in two weeks or less.
Such possibilities represent just one small part of 3D printing's potential to revolutionize U.S. manufacturing and innovation. Oxford Performance Materials is one of many companies and universities that helped found the U.S. National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute -- a $30 million pilot institute funded by the U.S. government to help transform 3D printing into a serious manufacturing tool.
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