Materialise, a 3D printing pioneer and leader in personalised medical solutions, has introduced the Personalised TMJ Total Arthroplasty System, which is designed to treat patients who require total temporomandibular joint (TMJ) arthroplasty. It’s a one-of-a-kind solution that combines implants, guides, and digital planning to speed up patient-specific TMJ treatment, all from the same company. This new solution offers a personalised treatment for patients with severe TMJ complications that necessitate a joint replacement.
The TMJ connects the skull and jawbone, allowing the jaw to open and close. A clinical study of patients who had previously received the personalised TMJ prosthesis revealed improvements in their quality of life, pain levels, satisfaction, and eating ability compared to pre-surgery, with 97% of cases reporting accurate implant placement. In the same clinical trial, clinicians reported a 100% success rate for the TMJ system one year after surgery.
Materialise TMJ Total Arthroplasty System
Materialise’s TMJ system is built on a fully digital platform, ensuring efficiency and accuracy based on the patient’s anatomy. Clinicians collaborate with Materialise’s experienced clinical engineers, who carry out the digital planning process in close coordination with the surgeon. The entire solution is sourced from Materialise, making it compatible with the company’s complete personalised cranio-maxillofacial (CMF) solutions and increasing access to personalised treatment.
“Our TMJ Total Arthroplasty System provides a completely personalised solution. It allows the seamless transfer of the virtual preoperative surgical plan to the operation room, enabling the functional reconstruction of the temporomandibular joint.”
– Maarten Zandbergen, Market Manager CMF at Materialise
Zandbergen continued, “This comprehensive solution offers clinicians full support for this complex procedure. It truly facilitates personalized treatment by providing a complete system including virtual planning software and clinical engineering support, as well as surgical guides, screws, and the implant itself.”
“Our implants, instruments, 3D planning technology, and clinical support empower surgeons as they strive to achieve precise and reliable outcomes. Personalised solutions are becoming the primary choice for more challenging or complex cases such as TMJ replacements. Our complete solution streamlines and speeds up what used to be a slow personalisation process with other providers.”
– Martijn Orye, Market Specialist, CMF
The digital workflow begins with a patient’s CT scan and dental records. During an interactive online session, a Materialise clinical engineer helps the treating physician with surgical planning and device design. Once the planning and device design are complete, Materialise manufactures the personalised TMJ implant in its facilities, providing the surgeon with implants and surgical instruments.
Materialise’s personalised TMJ Total Arthroplasty System is now available to surgeons in Europe, the United Kingdom, and Brazil (In Brazil, a Materialise subsidiary markets the prosthesis as a legal manufacturer, registered, and available as the TMJ Arthroplasty System Patient-matched).
The company’s most recent announcement follows the opening of a new medical 3D printing facility in the United States. The new facility in Plymouth, Michigan specialises in 3D printing personalised titanium CMF implants for facial reconstructive surgery. Until the facility’s opening in August, Materialise produced titanium CMF implants exclusively at its 3D printing facility in Belgium. It can now respond to surgeons’ needs with faster delivery of personalised implants to hospitals across the United States.
