Oxford Performance Materials: Is 3D Printing The New Face Of Orthopedics?

The orthopedics sector traditionally is seen as one of the lower technology sectors within medtech. Hips and knees, after all, merely are mechanical joints that must be replaced after years of wear and tear. Screws, plates, and other support structures are merely refined versions of something you might eye in a Home Depot. Until a few years ago, the orthopedics industry – large joint, in particular – functioned well without revolutionary innovation. But advances in technology outside the orthopedics sector may be ready to turn the sector on its head.

Meet Oxford Performance Materials Inc., a materials and additive manufacturing (3D printing) company that literally became the new face in orthopedics last month when the Food and Drug Administration issued 510(k) notification for the company’s OsteoFab Patient-Specific Facial Device. OsteoFab is the only FDA-cleared printed polymeric implant for facial surgery