Personalized solutions to highly complex orthopedic conditions

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and the manufacturer, LimaCorporate S.p.A., unveiled the first provider-based 3D design and printing facility for custom complex joint replacement solutions. HSS is consistently ranked No. 1 in orthopedics worldwide by Newsweek, and nationally by U.S. News & World Report. Headquartered in Italy, LimaCorporate is the world leader in 3D design and printing of personalized components for orthopedic patient care.

Known as the ProMade PoC (Point of Care) Center, the new FDA-regulated commercial facility at the HSS main campus in New York City will create faster access to more personalized solutions to highly complex orthopedic conditions. Integration with the world's leading academic medical center specialized in musculoskeletal health will further advance state-of-the-art solutions to the most complex orthopedic challenges.

"This groundbreaking partnership reflects our sense of responsibility to innovate better possibilities, not only for our patients but also for other providers," says Louis A. Shapiro, president and CEO of HSS. "Nearly half a century ago HSS specialists developed the modern total knee replacement, transforming the lives of millions of patients. Today, alongside LimaCorporate, we hope to further accelerate complex musculoskeletal solutions by expanding our ecosystem and providing surgeons with best-in-class patient care technology, onsite."

Patient-specific custom solutions, like those that will be designed and produced at the Promade PoC Center, are used for more complex procedures, and are digitally designed pre-operatively for an ideal match with the patient's anatomy. LimaCorporate's acclaimed and patented Trabecular Titanium technology ensures a positive in-bone biologic response. HSS patients will be scanned onsite, and their custom implant will be designed and fabricated in the onsite center. This design and manufacturing service will also be accessible to patients from other U.S. hospitals.

HSS and LimaCorporate have been collaborating remotely on patient-specific custom solutions since 2016. The new, onsite facility will enable dynamic collaboration between LimaCorporate's ProMade engineers and HSS surgeons and biomechanical engineers, ensuring patients the highest levels of quality, reliability, and speed. The integration will reduce by weeks the time to surgery for HSS patients requiring custom 3D printed components.

"The Promade PoC Center opening marks the next stage of realizing our ultimate goal: to restore the emotion of motion, by empowering surgeons to improve patient outcomes from joint replacement surgery," says LimaCorporate CEO Luigi Ferrari. "We are no stranger to challenging the status quo and, through this world-leading partnership, will continue to innovate our industry-leading solutions to answer real patient needs. We look forward to sharing our expertise with HSS and furthering our commitment to advancing patient-centric care."

"While the majority of joint replacement patients have a similar treatment pattern, these custom 3D printed solutions will provide relief to complex patients, who have often been living with joint problems for decades, and expedite what was once an international production process," says Leonard Achan, RN, MA, ANP, president of the HSS Innovation Institute. "With this new level of access to LimaCorporate's custom 3D printing, we also hope to foster and accelerate innovation in complex orthopedic joint care, with the potential to result in new products and solutions for patients across the U.S."

HSS was one of the first hospitals to recognize the benefits of specialized, integrated biomechanical engineering and manufacturing. Its world-renowned engineering team was formed in 1976, and since 1978 has maintained a close collaboration with Cornell University's Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Day-to-day collaboration between surgeons and engineers at HSS has advancing both implants and techniques for orthopedics, including design of the first Posterior Stabilized Knee by John N. Insall MD, and Albert Burstein PhD.

With over 14 years of clinical experience, LimaCorporate has been at the forefront of 3D printing. Having recognized the field's huge potential for orthopedic implants as 3D printing of Titanium was gathering momentum, its early vision and continued investment has helped restore movement for hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide. This new, state-of-the-art facility further expands the company's global reach.