EnvisionTEC, CollPlant and Medtronic making big moves in medical, dental AM, bioprinting

With lots of exciting additive manufacturing industry news coming in last week from RAPID+TCT and Hannover Messe, this week seems to be dominated by another industry: the medical sector. So far, we’ve seen new 3D printed implants from Medtronic, EnvisionTEC partnerships and financial announcements from CollPlant from the medical tech, dental and bioprinting fields. Find today’s highlights below:

Medtronic launches TiONIC platform for 3D printed titanium spine implants

Irish medtech company Medtronic has announced its latest implant 3D printing technology: TiONIC. The company says that the 3D printing platform is built for producing complexly designed titanium implants for spinal surgery applications. Notably, TiONIC integrates a differentiated laser method that enables the production of enhanced surface textures.

Having a textured surface finish is beneficial for most implantable medical devices, as the rough texture has been shown to promote osteoconductivity and natural bone growth within the patient. The TiONIC process goes a step beyond simply offering a textured surface, as it also provides manufacturers with the ability to produce complex implant structures, such as a honeycomb pattern.

EnvisionTEC partners with EasyRx for integrated orthodontic software solution

In a move that further solidifies the importance of additive manufacturing in the dental and orthodontic fields, 3D printing company EnvisionTEC has teamed up with EasyRx—a orthodontic prescription software developer—to launch an integrated software solution. By combining EasyRx’s software with EnvisionTEC’s dental 3D printing platform, the companies are aiming to streamline the process of producing orthodontic devices even more.

Using EasyRx, users can now not only manage and track orthodontic lab prescriptions, but they can also prepare the prescriptions for 3D printing if applicable. In practical terms, users now have the option to click on the EnvisionTEC logo within EasyRx which automatically opens a printable STL file in EnvisionTEC’s Perfactory software.

CollPlant closes $8M investment round series, opens new bioprinting facility

On the bioprinting front, Israeli company CollPlant announced the closing of its third (and final) investment agreement with Alpha Capital Anstalt. The company, known for its proprietary rhCollagen technology, specializes in the development of bioprinted tissue repair products.

This last investment round, which saw investments from Alpha Capital Anstalt and CollPlant shareholders, brings the company’s financing over the past seven months to a whopping $8 million. According to CollPlant Chief Technology Officer Yehiel Tal, the funds have already been put towards the establishment of a new rhCollagen production facility in Israel.