Printing implants with the laser

Whether for individual micro-implants or for micro-implants with medicine depots – additive processes are ideally suited for manufacturing such components. In the project “REMEDIS”, scientists at the Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH) have established a highly automated laser melting process to produce or coat implants made of platinum, nickel-titanium (NiTi) or stainless steel.

For this, scientists of the Surface Technology Group used a special form of 3-D printing – selective laser micro-melting (SLµM). They were able to coat electrodes for pacemakers with platinum, and produce three-dimensional lattice structures made of NiTi as well as stent prototypes made of stainless steel. Within this project platinum has been – for the first time successfully – processed within micro scale.

The SLµM process allows to manufacture stents and implants, which are adapted individually to the patient’s requirements. In the future it can open up new prospects in the field of medical technology.

The project was carried out together with the Institute for Bio-medical Technology of the University of Rostock, as a subproject in the cooperative project “REMEDIS”. REMEDIS was supported by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF).

Contact: Lena Bennefeld, Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.
l.bennefeld@lzh.de