BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM

Czech researchers at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague are building titanium joint implants with a porous internal structure designed to hold medication and release it gradually after surgery. The project is a collaboration with surgeons at Motol University Hospital.

The implants use laser powder bed fusion: a thin layer of titanium powder is spread, a laser fuses it into shape, and the process repeats roughly 1,300 times for a knee implant. The full print takes about ten and a half hours. Researcher Jiří Kubásek calls the machine “extremely precise,” capable of recreating the microscopic architecture of actual bone.

Why the porous structure matters

“Bone tissue isn’t solid. It’s naturally porous, which allows body fluids to circulate through it,” Kubásek said. “The pores are only tens to hundreds of micrometers wide, and this printer allows us to recreate structures of exactly that scale.”

Porous implants bond better with surrounding bone because tissue can grow into the gaps. But the pores also work as drug reservoirs. One version in testing uses a carrier of sulfates, phosphates, and silver, with the antibiotic vancomycin mixed in, to ward off post-operative infection.

The hard part

Professor Dalibor Vojtěch, who leads part of the project, says the main technical problem is finding a carrier material that is safe for the body and breaks down at a controlled rate. The medication has to release gradually, not in one dose. The team hasn’t solved that yet, but they’ve already demonstrated implants for the hip, shoulder, and ankle.

Post-operative infection is one of the worst complications of joint replacement. Loading preventive medication directly into the implant, rather than relying on systemic antibiotics, is what the whole project is really about.

Did this solution stand out? Share it with a friend or support our mission by becoming an Emissary.