WebinarHow are 3D printing and biofabrication changing the way orthopaedic implants, surgical tools and regenerative treatments are designed? This RCSEd webinar provides a practical introduction to biomedical 3D printing in orthopaedic surgery, covering both technologies already used in clinical care and experimental approaches being developed for future musculoskeletal treatments.
The session will compare several important additive-manufacturing and biofabrication methods, including extrusion printing, inkjet printing, stereolithography, digital light processing, volumetric printing and techniques assisted by external physical fields. Participants will learn how these technologies differ, where their respective strengths and limitations lie, and how the choice of printing method affects precision, material selection and the types of structures that can be produced.
Clinical examples will include patient-specific cutting guides and 3D-printed PEEK implants used in craniomaxillofacial surgery. These applications illustrate how digital planning and additive manufacturing can create devices adapted to an individual patient’s anatomy, with the potential to improve surgical preparation, accuracy and personalisation. The webinar will also consider the wider relevance of these approaches to implant design and future orthopaedic treatment strategies.
The research section moves beyond conventional 3D printing into advanced biofabrication. Case studies from the AO Research Institute Davos will demonstrate how fields such as sound, magnetic forces, light and hydrodynamic waves can be used to organise cells and biomaterials into more complex structures. These emerging methods are being investigated for orthopaedic regeneration, musculoskeletal disease modelling and the creation of more representative platforms for testing new therapies.
The webinar is presented by Dr Tiziano Serra, Focus Area Leader in Field-Assisted Biofabrication at the AO Research Institute Davos and Assistant Professor at Maastricht University’s MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine. His research focuses on clinically oriented biofabrication technologies that reproduce the organisation of living musculoskeletal tissues. The session is chaired by Professor Neil Ashwood, an upper-limb surgeon with an interest in bioengineering and implant design.
This webinar will be relevant to orthopaedic surgeons, researchers, biomedical engineers and medical-technology professionals interested in 3D-printed implants, patient-specific surgical solutions, biomaterials, bone and tissue regeneration, biofabrication and the translation of engineering research into clinical practice. It forms part of the RCSEd Emerging Technologies in Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery webinar series.
The live session provides one hour of CPD. Participants must attend the complete webinar and submit the feedback survey to qualify. RCSEd plans to publish a recording on the event page after the live broadcast.