January 10, 2019 / Davide Sher
On Tuesday, January 8, Dr. Samuel Joseph, Jr., assisted by Dr. Andrew Moulton of Joseph Spine became the first medical equip in the world to use Osseus Fusion Systems‘ revolutionary 3D Printed Aries Titanium Spinal Implant. The device was cleared by FDA just last August.
The Aries-L interbody fusion device features a proprietary multi-axis mesh and optimized micro-surface topology, both of which are designed to facilitate fusion. The product’s lattice helps increase the implant’s porosity to 80%, which provides unparalleled in-situ radio-visibility compared with other titanium implants. The implant’s anatomic profile, anti-migrational teeth, and streamlined insertion promote reduced recovery time by helping increase procedural efficiencies. A proprietary multi-axis mesh is designed to facilitate bone fusion throughout the implant. 
“As a surgeon, it’s very exciting to participate in the device development process and see your ideas brought to life so quickly,” commented Dr. Joseph, founder of Joseph Spine. “Today we were able to successfully implement this cutting edge, patient-specific spinal implant that addresses the complex anatomy of the spine and the delicate nature of its surrounding structures.”
Orthopedic implants are by far the primary medical application for additive manufacturing technologies, with titanium standing out as a key material in the road toward fully personalized medicine. The benefits in terms of better health and better quality of life are particularly evident in this type of implants, indicating that this could become the first segment to fully adopt additive manufacturing for production. AM Hardware manufacturing companies like Arcam (now GE Additive) have reported printing over 100,000 hip cups implants to date, however spinal and knee implants (along with CMF) are also rapidly evolving segments, especially in terms of increased personalization possibilities.