On September 18, 2018, Antarctic Bear learned from foreign media that the University of Birmingham (UoB) installed two Renishaw RenAM 500M metal additive manufacturing systems to provide services for its custom medical equipment center (CMD) .
These systems are installed by the School of Materials and Metallurgy at the University of Birmingham to accelerate the development of custom 3D printed medical devices. Dr. Sophie Cox, a lecturer at the Institute of Healthcare Technology at UoB University, said, "Additive manufacturing increases the freedom of designing medical devices. Using this technology, we have flexibility in implant geometry and material selection."
This recent project aims to reflect academia, clinical and industrial practices and lay the foundation for healthcare partnerships between institutes. Its main goal is to connect scholars from different disciplines to fully realize the potential of additive manufacturing for medical devices. The team's current goal is to enhance existing healthcare options with modern medical devices that are therapeutically and anatomically suitable for patients.
Dr Cox added: "We chose Renishaw because it has the experience of a custom medical device manufacturer, and as a university, we are working to achieve the ISO 13485 [Medical Quality Certification] that Renishaw has achieved, This partnership is just the beginning of a series of activities where we will combine research capabilities with Renishaw's expertise to realize the benefits of additive manufacturing for patients. "
As early as 2018, Renishaw partnered with Cardiff University Dental Hospital (CUDH) to develop 3D printed removable partial dentures using its DS20 optical scanner and AM250 metal 3D printer.
Prior to this, Renishaw and the Morriston Hospital in Wales helped save the lives of 71-year-old patients with muscle cancer through 3D printed titanium rib implants.
One of the companies benefiting from the addition of Renishaw's additive manufacturing system is Accentus Medical, a UK-based company dedicated to transforming technology by specializing in researching and developing new technologies for the medical device industry. Accentus Medical applied the technology to the surface of a 3D printed skull plate to reduce the possibility of infection.
Bryan Austin, Renishaw's director and general manager of medical and dental products, concludes: "This is a very exciting project and we are excited about the future of the industry. Through a partnership with Birmingham, the university has access to Clinical Opinion. By working with industrial, academic, and clinical partners, medical devices can be produced faster and at a lower cost, which will benefit patients receiving implants. "