Oxford Performance Materials Inc. (OPM), leading specialist in advanced materials and additive manufacturing, has announced the beginning of joint research programme with Yale University to develop innovative and cost-effective 3D printed biomedical technologies and applications.
Cranial Maxillo-Facial device.
This initiative will add renowned clinical expertise to OPM's comprehensive platform for device development, made up of OPM's proprietary OXPEKK formulation of the high performance polymer poly-ether-ketone-ketone (PEKK).
The joint research programme comprise of seven Yale faculty members who will explore a range of biomedical applications for 3D printing and PEKK.
"Our comprehensive medical device development platform will support the innovation and dedication to improving patient care for which Yale and its faculty are recognized,” said Dr. Adam Hacking, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Oxford Performance Materials. “Together, we foresee the development and delivery of new medical technologies and applications in ways that were previously not possible."
Projects include the development of new PEKK-based cranial and facial devices that support direct tissue attachment and 3D printed PEKK prosthesis for rib replacement. The team will also work on 3D printed PEKK devices that deliver therapeutics for improved vertebral fusion along with devices that deliver antibiotics to target infections associated with implants.
"PEKK is biocompatible, radiolucent, strong and durable,” says Professor Mark Saltzman, PhD, Yale's Goizueta Foundation Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and Chair of Biomedical Engineering. “3D printing enables the facile fabrication of complex geometries. In combination, these technologies present new and previously unavailable opportunities to develop and deliver customized, patient-specific therapies that are also economically viable.”
In 2013, the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development supported the expansion of OPM's South Windsor, Connecticut manufacturing facility with a $3.2 million loan for new machinery and equipment, as well as building upgrades.
Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy., adds: "Our state has long been an incubator for scientific, technological and medical innovation, and this program has the potential to yield significant benefits to society through 3D printing, advanced materials science and strategic partnership between private industry and academia.”
