If bones do not grow together properly after accidents or tumor treatments, this leads to permanent defects and impairments for patients. According to medical expert Prof. Cornelia Lee-Thedieck of Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany, more than 4 million transplants and artificial bone substitutes are needed worldwide every year. However, current treatment options are limited, she said.
Together with her team, Lee-Thedieck has therefore developed a novel material for bone repair. This can be processed using 3D printing and is thus said to be optimally adaptable to the respective defects. “Our material mimics the natural bone structure, promotes cell growth and exhibits excellent mechanical properties,” explains the scientist.
Lee-Thedieck has now received ERC Proof of Concept funding for further development into the market-ready medical product PRIOBONE. PRIOBONE stands for “A 3D-printable biomimetic bone regeneration material. The first step will be to further validate the material and develop a marketing strategy. The researcher is confident that her development has the potential to significantly reduce the individual, economic and societal burden of bone defects.
“Using established components provides a faster path to approval than entirely new developments,” Lee-Thedieck adds. For example, he said, it is conceivable to design implants so that they can be inserted minimally invasively and then deployed again.
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