The EU grant for the 3DMed Interreg 2 Seas Consortium will “support the development and streamlined integration of 3D printing technologies to enable advanced medical treatment and its widespread application”.
- Lead partner: Technische Universiteit Delft (TUD)
- UK Lead of the Consortium: Professor Cathy Ye
- Total budget: €6.84 Million
- Duration: October 2018 – March 2022
Project partners and their contribution:
TUD is leading worldwide in the field of steerable medical devices; the involved research groups at UG are leading in the field of virtual optimisation and that of biomaterials for 3DP, respectively; ARMINES is well equipped with expertise on 3DP of composites; ULille has top expertise in designing drug release systems and UOx on bioresorbable materials; MTL delivers preoperative planning solutions, with the unique potential to link with post-operatory evaluation; DORC is market leader in ophthalmic surgical instruments.
The consortium also includes innovative companies (AmI, EXO-L, VIGO, 3DLP, OxMestar, Oceanz), as well as clinical observers and clusters throughout the 2Seas area, to catalyse the transfer of results to a critical mass of users.
Common Challenge
3D printing (3DP) technologies carry the promise of revolutionizing the quality and efficiency of healthcare. However, the required technologies, even when available, are currently too fragmented to be integrated into routine, affordable and streamlined solutions that can benefit a large number of patients. The challenge thereby is to deliver 3DP technologies enabling:
- Patient-specific solutions: personalized medical devices that are designed using the images acquired for individual patients and best fit their treatment needs;
- Complexity and miniaturization: complex shapes, articulations and miniaturized geometries of implantable medical devices and instruments have the potential to radically enhance treatment effectiveness and post-treatment recovery;
- Streamlined care: the ability to integrate diagnosis, design and manufacturing of 3DP medical devices into a validated software platform is the key to delivering fast, affordable treatments with dramatic life-saving potential.
Project Objectives
3DMed aims to improve affordability and large scale accessibility of medical treatment using 3D printed devices. This will be achieved by increasing the technology readiness level (TRL) of state-of-the-art 3D printing technologies for medical applications and integrating them into a streamlined, fast, cost-effective software platform for use in routine clinical practice. The main objectives are:
Objective 1 – Streamlining and integration: to streamline the various steps of the 3D manufacturing process and integrate the data flows with pre-planning and post-operatory evaluation;
Objective 2 – Technology development: advance the TRL of metallic, composite and polymeric 3D printed medical devices;
Objective 3 – Validation: demonstrate the superior performance and ascertain the clinical benefits of the 3D printed medical devices developed in 3DMed.
Main Output
- Data transfer protocols to link image acquisition, design and the manufacture (3D printing) of the device;
- Streamlined, fast, cost-effective software platform to connect design and production of 3D printed devices with clinical evaluation (pre- and postop);
- Functionalised, 3D printable polymeric, composites and metallic implants supporting bone reconstruction;
- Six demonstrators validating the superior performance of 3D printed devices;
- Two clinical trials validating the clinical benefits of 3D printed surgical instruments.
For more information, please visit the project website https://www.3dmed2seas.eu/
Funding:
This project has received funding from the Interreg 2 Seas programme 2014-2020 co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund under subsidy contract No 2S04-014_3DMed.