Orthopedic Surgeon Shaneel Deo Visits Zenith Tecnica

Orthopedic Surgeon Shaneel Deo

The Auckland-based orthopedic oncology surgeon recently visited Zenith Tecnica’s factory to see how OSSIS 3D printed custom titanium implants are made.

Manufacturing an OSSIS custom orthopedic implant requires a lot of technical expertise, and involves many people: medical engineers, 3D printing engineers, and surgeons. To help surgeons better understand the 3D titanium implant manufacturing process, and to help the staff at 3D printing firm Zenith Tecnica understand surgeons’ needs, Auckland-based surgeon Mr. Shaneeel Deo recently visited Zenith for a tour.

Zenith Tecnica is a metal additive manufacturer that prints 3D titanium parts—the only one of their kind in New Zealand. Zenith’s technology is called electron beam melting: starting with a bed of titanium powder, they build the orthopedic implants by melting the titanium up layer by layer. Multiple implants can be built at the same time, if necessary.

Mr. Deo is an orthopedic oncology surgeon, and one of the biggest users of OSSIS implants in New Zealand. He has performed more oncology implant cases with OSSIS implants than any other surgeon in New Zealand, so he was excited to see where the manufacturing takes place.

Mr. Deo watched implants being built on the 3D printer. He was interested to see the technology working first-hand, especially how the 3D printers can create some of the open scaffold structures that help bone regrowth.

A valuable element of the visit for all involved were the brainstorming discussions that were had. OSSIS closely collaborates with surgeons. Surgeons, along with the patients receiving the implants, are the end-users, so their opinions and suggestions as to what works (and what doesn’t) is very valuable. As Bethany Oates, Technical Engineering Manager at OSSIS, stated:

“Every design is bespoke for the patient, but it’s also bespoke for the surgeon, and we create designs with their input in mind as well.”

As an oncology surgeon, Mr. Deo deals with patients with tumours. Part of his job requires taking the muscles, tissues, and ligaments away from the bone in order to remove the tumour, and then re-attaching them afterwards.

This is a big challenge, because the muscles and muscle networks need to provide stability and articulation so the patient can actually walk. Zenith and OSSIS representatives chatted with Mr. Deo about how OSSIS implants are being modified so that the soft tissue and muscle can be reattached even more easily than before. Everyone involved found these discussions highly productive.

Ultimately, it’s beneficial for everyone at every stage of the orthopedic implant journey–from the designers to the patients–to better understand the 3D manufacturing process.

Mr. Deo’s visit to Zenith allowed everyone involved an opportunity to learn more about each other’s work. The staff at Zenith learned more about the OSSIS design process, why it’s important to always have the surgeon in mind, and to better understand why some of the design features are as they are.

Mr. Deo himself gained a greater understanding of the manufacturing process, especially what is done at pre-processing and post-processing, and the work that is done after printing to deliver a superior product to surgeons and their patients.