3D-printed spine disc recognised for life-changing impact

Researchers at RMIT University collaborated with a medical device company and a neurosurgeon to successfully deliver a 3D printed vertebral cage to a patient with severe back pain.

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Distinguished Professor Milan Brandt, Director of RMIT’s Digital Manufacturing Facility and RMIT Centre for Additive Manufacturing led the research into Australia’s first locally-made 3D printed spinal implant, which was delivered to the patient Amanda Gorvin in 2015.  

Born with a rare spinal defect that stops one vertebra from fully forming, Gorvin says her quality of life had slumped to a ‘zero out of 10’, while her pain was an ’11 out of 10’. 

“I had this chronic pain that impacted my entire life,” said Gorvin.

Custom-made titanium spinal implant developed using 3D printing

Commercially available spinal implants, which did not fit the specific gap in Gorvin’s spine, were deemed unsuitable.

So RMIT researchers, medical implant producer Anatomics and neurosurgeon Dr Marc Coughlan, teamed up to print and insert a custom designed implant for her.  

The project had a short time frame - just six weeks from design to manufacture and implantation - and Brandt says designing a non-uniform structure that could support someone’s full body weight presented a significant challenge.

But they eventually produced a lattice titanium cage that would do just that, using RMIT-developed software tools and 3D laser printers to build the implant, layer by layer, from titanium metal powder.

Brandt said the revolutionary process allows the implant to be built layer by layer, adding successive layers of material under computer control – compared to the subtractive manufacturing techniques of casting, fabrication, stamping and machining.

“An advantage of 3D printing is that a custom implant can be made of any shape and complex internal architecture for a reasonable cost,” he said.

Specialist teams at Anatomics and RMIT used a CT scan of Gorvin’s spine to create the customised implant while a second medical device supplier, LifeHealthcare, provided additional parts.

3D-printed spine disc ‘has given me my whole world back’

Amanda Gorvin received the first Australian 3D printed spinal implant, designed by RMIT University engineers.

The operation was a success and, just days into rehabilitation, Gorvin started walking. 

A few weeks later she was almost completely pain free. 

“I feel so blessed: this piece has given me my whole world back,” says Gorvin, who’s since become a mother. 

The relationship with the surgeons and the engineers working together to develop a piece – to the millimetre perfect – to go into my spine was unbelievable.

“We were absolutely thrilled by the successful outcome,” says Brandt.

“This was the first such implant printed in Australia and implanted into a patient and research we’d worked on over many years into 3D printing was able to be used in a practical sense.”

Additive manufacturing recognised for industry benefits

Brandt said additive manufacturing is now rising in importance globally because of the many benefits it offers industry compared to conventional manufacturing.

“These include greater product diversity, product design and development, time to market, lower waste and product cost,” said Brandt.

“At RMIT we’re researching the design, manufacture and mechanical performance of these structures for a range of applications, in particular new generation medical implants.

“The long-term goal is to establish local manufacturing capability for these types of implants which will deliver better patient outcomes at a lower cost to Australia’s health care system,” he said.

3D-printed titanium lattice cage to fit perfectly into the spine.

Accolades for life-changing impact

In 2019, peak industry body Engineers Australia named Brandt a Centenary Hero for the impact of his work.

The accolade is reserved for engineers who have ’pushed boundaries, defied odds, and come up with innovations that no-one could have imagined 100 years ago’.

Next steps

The project’s success has since taken Brandt and his team in a new direction, designing next generation implants for bone cancer patients. 

This collaboration with Stryker, University of Technology Sydney, Innovative Manufacturing CRC and St Vincent’s Hospital is 3D-printing custom bone replacements where bone cancer tumours have been removed, allowing for as much as possible of the limb to be saved.

Brandt said industry collaboration has been the key to value creation at the Advanced Manufacturing Precinct, especially in the areas of biomedical devices, aerospace, defence and mining industries.

“We look to work with forward-thinking manufacturing companies, independent of size or background, in order to create an environment for innovation and collaboration where we can all learn and benefit from the interaction," he says.

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