With collaboration from Sydney University and Allegra Orthopaedics. I have recently been providing advice to Allegra Orthopaedics, an Australian research & development company committed to bring the freedom and happiness of pain-free movement to people’s lives. They achieve this through providing the best possible solutions for patients, from world-wide industry leading orthopaedic products through to Australian innovations.

As their Chief Medical Advisor, I am very excited to be part of the development of a bone graft for surgical procedures. We are now well on the way to being able to print bone replacement.

Imagine printing your femur, your finger or your foot. All of that is theoretically possible and not far off being a reality. We believe we can print and implant defects in the skull and anywhere in the skeleton.

This is an Australian innovation looking to change the world.

Another exciting part of the innovation is that strontium is used in the process. The strontium is known to be anti-microbial.

Another exciting aspect of the bone graft project is that we can 3D print any shape. Therefore, if surgeons can 3D print a bone substitute which is resistant to bacteria that will truly change medicine. Currently the project has a sheep study where part of the tibia has been replaced. At this point in time the study notes extensive bony ingrowth.

This truly is an exciting time to be in medicine.