Here are 51 developments in 3D printing for spine and orthopedics in 2018.
1. NuVasive launched the Coalesce Thoracolumbar Interbody Fusion Device as well as expanded FDA 510(k) clearance for Coalesce and its Cohere Cervical Interbody Fusion Device.
2. The China Food and Drug Administration issued new guidance on registration rules for 3D-printed medical devices
3. Stryker’s 3D-printed Tritanium TL Curved Posterior Lumbar Cage earned FDA clearance.
4. Benvenue Medical presented positive interim results of a retrospective analysis of its Luna 3D Multi-Expandable Interbody Fusion System at Spine Summit 2018, March 14-17 in Orlando.
5. CoreLink fully launched its Foundation 3D Interbody Cage Systems for cervical and lumbar fusions.
6. Surgeons reported using 4Web Medical's Truss Implant Technology in more than 30,000 procedures.
7. Orthopedic 3D printing company Arigin Medical completed its series A investment round.
8. Medtronic launched TiONIC Technology, a titanium 3D-printed platform for spinal implants, at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting in New Orleans May 1.
9. K2M launched the Mojave PL 3D Expandable Interbody System in the U.S.
10. Additive manufacturer Oxford Performance Materials partnered with Tokyo-based materials supplier JSR Corp., to build a manufacturing facility in Japan and advance its PEKK 3D-printed orthopedic device line in the Asian market.
11. Patient-specific 3D-printed implant company Xilloc Medical acquired Orthopedie Technologie Nijmegen for an undisclosed sum.
12. Additive Orthopaedics received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Patient Specific 3D Printed Bone Segments for internal bone fixation in the ankle and foot.
13. Centinel Spine received FDA 510(k) clearance for its FLX Platform of 3D-printed titanium devices.
14. Zimmer Biomet earned FDA clearance for its 3D-printed Zyston Strut Open Titanium Interbody Spacer System.
15. UC San Francisco partnered with 3D-printer manufacturer Intamsysto develop PEEK implants for orthopedic surgery.
16. WASPmed launched the Digital Orthopedic Laboratory to expand its footprint in the 3D-printed orthopedic devices industry.
17. Renovis Surgical Technologies received FDA 510(k) clearance for the 3D-printed Tesera SA Hyperlordotic Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion System.
18. Christopher Dale, MD, used a custom, 3D-printed implant for a knee replacement surgery at Aurora Medical Center in Summit, Wis.
19. Vadodara, India-based orthopedic surgeon Dr. Rajiv Shah performed the world's first 3D-printed talus replacement in an orthopedic trauma patient
20. Kico Knee Innovation Company won a $2.5 million grant to create patient-specific total knee replacement implants.
21. A bioactive, 3D-printed scaffold helped regenerate and remodel bone in a rabbit model.
22. Douglas Lucas, DO, performed talus replacement surgery with an Additive Orthopaedics' 3D-printed implant at Durango, Colo.-based Mercy Regional Medical Center.
23. Stryker Spine's 3D-printed, porous Tritanium cages led to greater bone in-growth than plasma-sprayed, porous titanium-coated PEEK and traditional PEEK cages after lumbar fusion, according to an animal model study in The Spine Journal.
24. Medical 3D printer manufacturer Kumovis won the Munich Business Plan Competition 2018 in Germany.
25. Mighty Oak Medical received FDA 510(k) clearance for its patient-specific, 3D-printed S2AI Guide for sacroiliac fixation in complex spinal reconstruction.
26. Patient-specific, 3D-printed implants are safe and effective for atlantoaxial transarticular screw fixation, according to a study in the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience.
27. K2M received FDA 510(k) clearance and a CE Mark for its Cayman United Plate System after completion of its first surgical cases. Cayman United is designed for rigid fixation to K2M's Cascadia Lateral 3D Interbody System, which features Lamellar 3D Titanium Technology. It is the only 3D-printed cage with modular fixation capabilities.
28. SpineVision received FDA clearance and CE mark approval for its titanium 3D laser-printed Hexanium Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion cage.
29. Captiva Spine earned FDA 510(k) clearance for its TirboLOX-L 3D-Printed Titanium Lumbar Cages.
30. Stelios Koutsoumbelis, MD, was among the surgeons who completed the first cases using Centinel Spine's FLX Platform of 3D-printed titanium interbody devices.
31. Osseus Fusion Systems earned FDA 510(k) clearance for five 3D-printed, titanium lumbar interbody fusion devices.
32. CoreLink received FDA clearance to market its Foundation 3D Anterior Lumbar Interbody device.
33. CoreLink received FDA 510(k) clearance for its M3 Stand-Alone Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion System.
34. Medacta International received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Mpact 3D Metal Implants and Augments 3D Metal as enhancements to its Mpact System for primary to complex hip revision procedures.
35. Patient-specific, 3D-printed foot and ankle titanium implants led to fusion in 87 percent of cases, according to a study published in Foot & Ankle International.
36. Michael Sealy, PhD, an assistant mechanical and materials engineering professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is using a 3D printer to develop dissolvable implants.
37. SI-BONE's 3D-printed triangular titanium implants had low adverse event rates similar to the prior machined version of the device, according to an article in Medical Devices: Evidence and Research.
38. Mighty Oak Medical received FDA 510(k) clearance for its 3D-printed, patient-specific Firefly Midline Navigation Guide.
39. Albuquerque-based University of New Mexico researchers are developing 3D-printed ligaments as an alternative to ligament reconstruction surgery for sports injuries.
40. The FDA awarded $2.6 million in grants for 3D bioprinting and biomanufacturing research.
41. Nexxt Spine began its MATRIXX trial, the first clinical evaluation of 3D-printed lumbar interbody fusion devices compared to PEEK.
42. Researchers at Nottingham Trent University in the U.K. are 3D-printing spine models for surgical training.
43. Apium Additive Technologies' medical PEEK 3D printing application on the Apium M220 Series machine met biocompatibility criteria for skull and hand implants.
44. Three professors in UC San Francisco School of Medicine's orthopedic surgery department founded EDGE Labs to make 3D printing more accessible.
45. DJO's Empowr 3D Knee technology improves function and patient satisfaction after total knee arthroplasty surgery, according to a study in Techniques in Orthopaedics.
46. Medical device company PrinterPrezz, which combines metal 3D-printing, nanotechnologies and surgical expertise to design and manufacture medical devices that can be brought to market faster, opened its first innovation center in Fremont, Calif.
47. Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Centura Orthopedics now offers 3D-printed knee replacements.
48. German-based minimally invasive spinal surgery technology developer joimax will showcased its portfolio at the German Spine Society annual meeting in Wiesbaden, Germany, Dec. 6-8, including its EndoLIF product line, which features the 3D-printed EndoLIF O/On-Cage, EndoLIF Delta Cage and EndoLIF Double Wedge Cage.
49. Osseus Fusion Systems received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Aries 3D-printed titanium spinal implants.
50. According to a study in Spine, 3D-printed vertebral body and segmental spine models accurately mimic human tissue on C-arm fluoroscopic images.
51. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films in Braunschweig, Germany, developed a method to 3D-print patient-specific and stable plastic bone implants.