What if an orthopedic implant could be designed around a patient’s specific anatomy from the very beginning? This question is at the heart of a broader transformation taking place in orthopedic manufacturing. Advances in medical imaging, artificial intelligence, generative design, and additive manufacturing are increasingly enabling the shift from standardized implant geometries to more personalized solutions. Within the ADAPT (Digital Manufacturing of Customized Orthopaedic Implants) project, these technologies are being…

For a long time, limitations to product adoption focused on economic viability rather than on effects on the environment and society. With the growing awareness of the environmental consequences of rapid technological development, this is no longer acceptable. Everything has become important. The resources used in a process, water and energy among them, were always vital pieces of a complex technological puzzle. Now, they must be characterized according to source,…

Additive manufacturing is changing the way complex metallic components can be designed and produced. Instead of removing material from a solid block, additive manufacturing builds parts layer by layer directly from digital 3D data. This approach is particularly attractive for medical applications, where implants often need to combine complex geometries, high mechanical performance and patient-specific design. Within the ADAPT project, the printing process plays a central role in transforming advanced…

Every orthopedic procedure – whether diagnosis, treatment decision-making, preoperative planning, or surgery – begins with a clear understanding of the patient’s anatomy. In the case of a joint replacement, before a customized implant can be chosen or designed, manufactured, and validated, there is one essential step: identifying the relevant anatomical structures from medical images. In a nutshell, the surgeon first needs to understand where the bone is, what shape it…