KTÜ METAM Produces Personalized Medical Implants with 3D Printer Technologies

Karadeniz Technical University (KTU) Medical Device Design and Manufacturing Application and Research Center (METAM) aims to take its place in the foreign market with medical implants produced specifically for individuals using 3D printer technologies and digital software.

METAM Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Aslan told AA correspondent that the center, established in 2021, started its activities with the design and production of medical devices.

Stating that the production of personalized implants is the main activity among these activities, Aslan stated that their aim is to meet the needs by managing the design and production processes for the demands coming from doctors.

Aslan stated that they used 3D printer technologies, digital software and personalized data, thus developing implants that can be used in the human body.

Emphasizing the importance of personalized implants in emergency cases and traumatic injuries, Aslan continued as follows:

“Our doctors may also have ideas in project studies. They may be many electronic devices, from the hand tools they use. Ideas may emerge here with our engineers and researchers, in project meetings. We can create intellectual property rights for these, especially with the support of our technology transfer center, together with the patenting process, and create product end-use areas. We have projects supported by different project concepts of both the Presidency of Health Institutes of Turkey and TÜBİTAK. In this sense, since KTÜ has a strong engineering faculty and a medical faculty, studies on product activities can be carried out at a widespread level.”

“We can provide products for many surgeries”

Underlining that they have had international accreditation since 2023, Aslan said, “We can provide products for many surgeries with the personalized implants we have put forward. In this sense, we can intervene in instant cases together with our expert surgeons and carry out all processes specifically for the person from the required data.”

Stating that METAM, one of the few centers in Turkey, aims to continue its activities in the international arena, Aslan said, “We are also conducting studies in this sense. We are also directing our processes in line with the medical device directives followed by the Ministry of Health, Turkey Medicines and Medical Devices Agency. Our processes are ongoing for any product that comes out of here to receive a CE certificate and to be applied to the people in need.”

“We are receiving high positive feedback from operations”

Mentioning that the skull area is among their priorities in the implants they produce, Aslan noted the following:

“We are developing implants for traumatic and tumor cases in the skull region, especially for instant accident injuries. This part is very important because there may be operations that require urgent intervention. We produce by meeting with doctors and surgeons one-on-one and getting approval on the final product. Here, faster and more efficient results can be obtained in the patient’s recovery and surgery processes. With doctors being able to study these operations in advance, faster and safer surgeries can be performed by carrying out these plans. In this sense, we have received high positive feedback from the operations we have performed so far. This also pleases us and we feel that we need to work harder.”

Aslan, drawing attention to the fact that personalized implants are an important field of study in plastic surgery, said, “With the newly developed directives in terms of security, these processes are becoming more reliable. Only a few centers in the world can carry out this process. We aim to implement both biocompatibility and biomechanical processes in our own laboratory infrastructure with other institutions within the university that we work with. It will be possible to deliver the products made here to world markets with the developed infrastructure studies.”