A BLEND OF MEDICINE AND TECHNOLOGY: AN INDIVIDUALIZED TITANIUM IMPLANT

A significant result has recently been achieved in the field of Maxillofacial surgery as part of multidisciplinary cooperation between the Clinical Centre of Vojvodina, the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Technical Sciences of the University of Novi Sad, with support from the Cardiff Metropolitan University. Owing to this cooperation, an individualized titanium implant has been successfully used for the first time for partial facial reconstruction at the Clinical Centre of Vojvodina.

The doctors at the Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic, led by Professor Aleksandar Kiralj, PhD, Head of the Clinic and Full Professor of the Faculty of Medicine in Novi Sad, performed a reconstruction of the deformity of facial skeleton bones of a 20-year-old patient by surgically placing an individualized titanium implant.

The project is peculiar because it involved cooperation with the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad, where the team of Associate Professor Igor Budak, PhD designed a 3D model of the implant, on the basis of the previously submitted CT scans of the patient. This 3D model was used to produce a titanium implant with 3D printing technology, which was subsequently surgically inserted in the patient’s body.  The project implementation was made possible owing to cooperation with Dr. Dominic Eggbeer from the Cardiff Metropolitan University, PDR – International Centre for Design and Research.

The approach applied includes an analysis of all parameters (in line with the CT scan as the basis) which is used for 3D planning, followed by a 3D simulation of the defect reconstruction and final designing of the implant. After analyzing all the relevant data and obtaining consent from the patient, an individualized implant is created and then surgically inserted.  

This advanced approach has numerous advantages as the problem of reconstruction, which should provide the most ideal solution for the patient, aesthetically and functionally, can practically be solved in a single surgical intervention, with minimal complications. The significance of the new approach, which is based on digital planning and production, is reflected in simplifying the surgical process and considerably reducing its duration with much less risks involved.