The growth of the orthopedics market poses a huge opportunity for Industrial Computed Tomography (CT) as a quality inspection tool for this highly regulated industry, where quality and safety are of the utmost importance. This article published in the recent Medial Design Briefs magazine explores how CT can be a valuable tool for design and quality engineers to help them ensure their critical products meet and exceed regulatory standards, and also details the benefits of CT for additive manufacturing.

Key factors in the growing orthopedic device industry are:

• steady rise of degenerative disease
• growing geriatric population
• high prevalence of obesity and sedentary lifestyles
•  early onset of musculoskeletal disorders

Demands of the market have driven the early adoption of technological advances and new product launches. Manufacturers have made significant enhancements to implant materials and processing methods of implants, which has made them more reliable and durable. Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3-D printing, is gaining momentum in the orthopedics industry with the production of customized implants, medical devices and orthotics from diverse materials. In this article you can read how AM technology reduces surgery times, allows for custom design, leads to better stability of the implant in the long run, and is improving the clinical outcomes of surgical procedures.

AM is becoming a valuable tool in the healthcare market for several reasons. One of the most important is the freedom of design it offers for complex structures. Another is the ability to personalize devices to fit individual patient needs. As hip replacement candidates today are trending younger and tend to have more active lifestyles, providing implants to these atypical patients requires a new design and manufacturing approach and CT is part of that approach.  

Industrial CT can speed up the process with proper inspection of powder quality and faster identification of the parameters.  When it comes to orthopedic implants such as hip or knee replacements, patients are expecting the outcome to eliminate pain, improve mobility, and provide better quality of life.  

Learn how AM is a method shown to solve clear and persistent problems in orthopedics. Utilizing industrial CT as a quality control tool can help to deliver on the promise of better healthcare products for patients worldwide. Read the full article about how Industrial CT is enhancing the manufacturing of orthopedics at Medical Design Briefs.