Orthopedic surgery is a field that demands extreme precision. During an operation, deviations in bone cuts or implant positioning by just a few millimeters can have serious consequences. To address this issue, AK Medical turned to additive manufacturing: the company adopted TPM3D’s SLS solutions to design ultra-precise, custom-made surgical guides.
As you can imagine, altering the axis, size, or shape of a bone is a particularly delicate procedure. The same applies to joint replacement or tumor resections. These are extremely meticulous operations where every step must be planned with precision.
Surgeons therefore rely on guides, technical aids, and surgical plans to guide them and reduce the risk of errors. Even a slight deviation in implant placement or osteotomy can lead to increased wear on the implant, a higher risk of revision surgery, or misaligned limbs.
Additive Manufacturing Enables Lower-Risk Procedures
Thankfully, issues can be avoided by implementing additive manufacturing. Using a patient’s CT or MRI scans, AK Medical can design custom surgical guides. These are then 3D printed on TPM3D’s SLS machines. With the design freedom offered by additive manufacturing, these guides can incorporate cutting slots or predefined drilling paths, depending on the procedure to be performed.
The result is a more precisely executed surgical procedure, with the surgeon able to follow a plan very accurately; shorter operating times and reduced risks. Clinical studies have also shown statistically significant reductions in intraoperative blood loss and postoperative drainage.
AK Medical’s 3D printed surgical guide using TPM3D SLS technology
The use of these 3D-printed guides also reduces alignment errors. Traditionally, alignment errors exceeding 3° occur in 30% of procedures. This rate drops to 5% with SLS additive manufacturing. This means more durable implants, fewer complications for the patient, and, most importantly, a reduced risk of revision surgery.
Why Choose TPM3D’s SLS Solutions?
As you can see, additive manufacturing simplifies surgical procedures and makes it easier to manage complex clinical cases. But why choose selective laser sintering and TPM3D’s solutions?
AK Medical can design its custom guides using biocompatible nylon. They meet very strict sterilization and safety standards and are designed for single-use. Additionally, production lead times are reduced—from several weeks to just a few days—offering greater flexibility for all critical situations.
On the machine side, AK Medical uses TPM3D’s P360 SLS system, equipped with its PPS powder processing station. The machine has a compact footprint yet offers a build chamber of 360 x 360 x 600 mm. A nitrogen generator and active cooling are integrated to ensure stability and safety.
Post-processing is streamlined because the PPS station cleans the parts, recovers the powder, mixes it, and feeds it back into the machine—all within a closed-loop system. The production environment remains clean, human intervention is minimized, and the cost per part is reduced.
AK Medical can therefore count on a reliable solution that will be integrated into standardized clinical use. SLS additive manufacturing is transforming orthopedic care and revolutionizing surgery by enabling the scalable, standardized production of patient-specific medical devices.
If you’d like to learn more about TPM3D’s solutions, feel free to contact their teams HERE.
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*Cover picture: TPM3D P360 SLS 3D Printer and Powder Processing Station (credits: TPM3D)