Lukas Jürgensen receives doctoral scholarship from the DGOOC
We congratulate our medical doctoral student and resident physician at the Clinic for General Orthopedics and Tumor Orthopedics Lukas Jürgensen on receiving the doctoral scholarship from the German Society for Orthopedics and Orthopedic Surgery (DGOOC). Mr. Jürgensen is awarded for his achievements and commitment in research on additive manufacturing at the point-of-care and individualized care of orthopedic patients. As part of our team, he has made a significant contribution to establishing the technology at the site and making it usable for patient care.
We look forward to continuing our collaboration!
Joint Meeting of the Co-Operations from Münster and Enschede
A delegation of medical staff from various specialist departments at the UKM visited the cooperation partner in Enschede - including PD Dr Dr Schulze for an exchange of experiences on the topic of 3D printing at the point of care, which we would like to work on more closely in the future.
Click here for the article
PD Dr Dr Martin Schulze as a guest appearance on Druckwelle
Druckwelle is a podcast from ingenieur.de on the topic of additive manufacturing. In the last episode (No. 81 from 04 April 2024), PD Dr Dr Martin Schulze was a guest to talk about patient care at Münster University Hospital with the help of the new 3D center. Listen in at the following links! (German)
About the Podcast
Without the third dimension, everything is flat. Additive manufacturing is the trend in production and industry. At Druckwelle, we bring leading minds in additive manufacturing to the microphone to explain 3D printing to you in vivid detail. The experts explain new printing technologies and materials. They evaluate developments and give practical tips.
VDI news editor Stefan Asche has been familiarising himself with the trend technology for years. As your host, he presents a new episode of Druckwelle every fortnight on Thursdays.
About the Episode
Münster University Hospital is the first hospital in the world to be authorised to additively manufacture and use medical products in close proximity to patient care.
So far, the experts have printed personalised templates for cutting and drilling, among other things. They enable high-precision work, for example in the border area between carcinoma and healthy tissue.
The doctors also produce bone models to which implants are adapted. A third area of application is models that are used to explain to patients what treatment is planned.
The Münster-based company still only uses plastic printers, including a large-volume SLS printer weighing 1.4 tonnes and a DLP printer.
In this episode, Martin Schulze, a doctor of engineering and senior physician, explains the details of applications. He also ventures a prediction of what the intersection of engineering and high-tech medicine could produce in the future.
Customised implants, models and instruments at the point of care
Opening of the 3D Center at Münster University Hospital
Münster (mfm/sw) - 3D printing has almost become part of everyday life - and yet it can do so much more: for example, produce patient-specific implants, reproduce entire organ systems, such as the heart and parts of the aorta, or print individualised drilling and sawing templates for bones for use in the operating theatre. The opening of a unique facility in Germany shows how the University Medical Center in Münster will use this future technology in the future: on Monday [19 February], the "3D Center" integrated into the Experimental Orthopedics Department at the Faculty of Medicine was officially put into operation. The center, which has received around one million euros in funding to date, is intended to pool expertise and knowledge relating to 3D printing and make it available for medical research - and subsequently for regular patient care.
Click here for the Article (German)
Click here for the WDR Report (German)
Click here for the Westfälische Nachrichten Report (German)
Visit to the AM Medical Days in Berlin
We attended the AM medical Days again this year and were looking forward to the exciting exchange with experts from the field of additive manufacturing in medicine.
This year, we reported in a keynote lecture on how 3D printing is safely designed for patient care at the point of care. At the UKM, we support our doctors by providing sterile patient-specific anatomical models for surgery through a certified process, thereby contributing to the improvement of therapy.
Pre-Audit for MDR Certification at the Point of Care
On 20 and 21 November 2023, our team received another visit from Gregor Reischle (AM Entrepreneur). He conducted a pre-audit in accordance with ISO/ASTM52920 of our additive manufacturing process using DLP technology and prepared us for the upcoming audit by a notified body. The 3D printing process is now MDR-compliant.
To ensure patient safety, the entire process in which additive manufacturing is used will be set up and certified in accordance with the requirements of the Medical Device Regulation (MDR) in the long term.
We look forward to quality-assured clinical applications!
Shock Wave-Activated Silver-Loaded Biopolymer Implant Coating Eliminates Staphylococcus epidermidis on the Surface and in the Surrounding of Implants
Bacterial biofilms on foreign surfaces are considered a primary cause of implant-related infections, which are challenging to treat. A new implant coating was developed, containing anti-infective silver within a biocompatible polymer carrier substance. In addition to its passive effect on the implant surface, highly concentrated anti-infective silver can be released as needed via the application of high-energy shock waves. This intervention could be applied transcutaneously in a clinical setting without the need for additional surgery. We investigated the inhibition of biofilm formation and the effectiveness of eradication after activation of the coating via shock waves in an in vitro biofilm model using Staphylococcus epidermidis RP62A. This was performed via scanning electron microscopy and quantitative microbiology. Additionally, we examined the cytotoxicity of the new coating on normal human fibroblasts and Saos-2 osteoblast-like cells, depending on the silver concentration. All studies were compared to uncoated titanium surfaces Ti6Al4V and a conventional electroplated silver coating. Cytotoxicity toward normal human fibroblasts and Saos-2 osteoblast-like cells increased with higher silver content but remained tolerable at 6%. Compared to uncoated Ti6Al4V and the electroplated silver coating, the new coating with a silver content of 4% and 6% exhibited a significant reduction in adherent bacteria by a factor of approximately 1000. This was also evident via microscopic examination of the surface morphology of the biofilms. Furthermore, following shock wave activation, no bacteria were detectable on either the implant or in the surrounding fluid after a 24 h period.
Click here for the Paper
Visit to the DKOU 2023 in Berlin - Expertise in Quality and Progress
On 26 October 2023, our team took part in the German Congress for Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery (DKOU) in Berlin. There we presented exciting research results in the fields of anti-infective coatings and additive manufacturing at the point of care.
Our latest results were successfully presented by our PhD students Lukas Jürgensen and Melanie Nonhoff in the poster sessions "Tumour Surgery and Upper Extremity" and "Experimental III".
The DKOU congress is an important platform for professionals in orthopedics and trauma surgery to share the latest advances. We are proud to contribute to this exchange of knowledge and look forward to participating again next year.
MDR-Compliant Certification at the Point of Care
The kick-off meeting for the certification of 3D-printed anatomical models took place recently. The aim is to provide sterile patient-specific models for operations. This means that models can not only be used for surgical preparation and planning, but can also be repeatedly used by the surgical team during complex procedures. This makes complex operations easier and increases patient safety.
The Experimental Orthopedics team has enlisted the active support of an expert in the form of Gregor Reischle (AM Entrepreneur). Certification in accordance with the Medical Device Regulation (MDR) is our declared goal for the near future.
We look forward to the next steps!
New High-End Acquisition: 1.4 t Printer Becomes the Heart of the 3D Laboratory at Münster University Medical Center
Report from 17.07.2023
Münster (mfm/sw) - What weighs almost one and a half tonnes, cost several hundred thousand euros and had to be delivered by crane? Exactly: the new 3D printer at Münster University Medical Center. After the complex large-scale device was initially delayed due to extensive remodelling work, it has now been hoisted by crane into its destination building - the 3D laboratory in the Orthopedics Clinic - and is almost ready for use. From now on, the new acquisition will help with research into new technologies in orthopedics and thus contribute to individualised patient care. The head of the 3D laboratory, physician and engineer Dr Martin Schulze, speaks of a "step into a new future of medicine at the Münster site". The investment of around 530,000 euros in the device was financed primarily with EU funds from the REACT programme, which the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Münster and the University Hospital for Orthopedics topped up from their own funds.
Click here for the Article (German)
Investigations Accurate to the Nanometre: Department of Mechanical Engineering Acquires Confocal Microscope
The Department of Mechanical Engineering now has a confocal microscope that can produce high-resolution 2D and 3D models of surfaces. PhD student Julian Hasselmann is using the device for research into a new implant coating system.
Report from 03.07.2023
The laser beam scans the sample piece by piece. Only a fraction of the silver ion coating to be analysed is examined using a pinhole - and little by little, the confocal microscope is able to create a 3D model that takes Julian Hasselmann's research a decisive step forward. The acquisition is new to the Materials Technology Laboratory at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, which is headed by Prof Dr Gerhard Gevelmann and Dr Miriam Laubrock. The confocal microscope not only helps doctoral students like Hasselmann, but also prepares students even better for their future engineering careers.
Click here for the Article (German)
MGA Medical Hospitals AM Multicenter Study
Quality improvements in Additive manufacturing at the point-of-care
Together with our MGA working group hospitals we invite you to a multi-center study. Using DICOM datasets of pelvic CTs, an inter/intra-observer study will be performed and quality assessments of pressure parameters for anatomical models will be performed.
In our project we want to compare
Segmenters with different levels of experience
Segmentation software: free (freeware) vs. certified
MEX printers/printer/AM technologies
and others...
Who should participate:
Medical professionals (surgeons, radiologists)
Clinical designers/engineers
and others...
Further information can be found under the following links:
Teaching Day 2022 - Workshop of Experimental Orthopedics
The medical student council of the WWU hosted
This year's Teaching Day took place again on 9 November and Experimental Orthopedics was there with two workshops!
Medical students from all semesters had the opportunity to take a look at research and development for our patient-centered treatment. At four stations, they were able to get hands-on and experience point-of-care solutions through to navigated surgery on a 3D printed model.
A really great event with enthusiastic students - thank you!
Visit to the DKOU 2022 in Berlin - #PassionForThePatient
The German Congress of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery (DKOU) took place in Berlin from 25 to 28 October 2022 - a complete success for our Experimental Orthopedics team!
With over 10,000 participants, the DKOU is the largest specialist congress for O and U in Europe. In addition to networking and partnerships, it was an ideal platform to present our current clinical and experimental research results in three lectures. In the basic research session, we had the opportunity to present our activatable anti-infective implant coating to a broad audience of medical and medical technology specialists.
We take home great impressions, a positive response and the desire to move into clinical application and look forward to seeing you again at future congresses.
New Implant Coatings Help in the Fight against Bacteria
Münster University of Applied Sciences Master's student Julian Hasselmann develops test concept for new type of implant coating in the materials technology laboratory
Münster/Steinfurt (16 April 2021). When a person is fitted with a prosthesis, a race begins in the body: The body's own cells ensure that the implant is accepted - but if bacteria get onto the surface of the prosthesis first, this leads to an infection and, as a result, often to another operation. In order to decide this so-called "race for surface" in favour of the patient, medical technicians are working on preventing infections with special coatings. Dr Martin Schulze at Münster University Hospital (UKM) is one of them. He and his team want to improve the quality of prostheses with a new coating system. They are receiving support from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Münster University of Applied Sciences: in his master's thesis, student Julian Hasselmann has developed a test concept for the mechanical characterisation of this new coating system.
Click here for the Article (German)
