Materialise Unveils Shoulder Surgery Planning System

Materialise NV (NASDAQ:MTLS) is ensuring its presence in the medical industry is here for a long time. 

On March 6, the additive manufacturing and 3D printing services company revealed the launch of the TRUMATCH® personalized solutions shoulder system in collaboration with DePuy Synthes, which will be used by orthopaedic surgeons to help prepare for shoulder arthroplasty surgery with a focus on reverse shoulder arthroplasty and anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty operations.

According to the release, the product will provide surgeons with an all-in-one web-based platform to help prepare and plan for operations ahead of time in addition to ordering patient-specific 3D printed surgical guides.

With the 3D virtual  pre-surgical planing, implant positioning is completed by using “reliable landmarks”  that aren’t case specific wear patterns. In other words, it allows the surgeon to be more exact in lining up the implant and screw positioning.  Essentially, the goal of the TRUMATCH® personalized solutions shoulder system is to help make surgeons make educated and informed clinical decisions before surgery.

“This increased pre-operative preparedness gives the surgeon and the team more confidence and control during surgery,” the release said.

DePuy Synthes, an orthopaedic and neurological branch of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), will–in its existing collaboration with Materialise–distribute the product in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and even Europe.

“3D planning is gaining popularity with orthopaedic surgeons performing shoulder operations,” Wilfried Vancraen, CEO of Materialise said in the release, adding that the hopes the collaboration with DePuy Synthes will be to “empower” orthopaedic surgeons in realizing the potential for online planning and 3D-printed, patient-specific surgical guides.

One example of the benefits of 3D printing in orthopaedic surgery is one that took place in Croatia, which was the first successful 3D printed shoulder implant surgery in the country in December of last year.

Since the announcement, shares of Materialise have increased 9.14 percent to close at $9.14 on Monday (March 12), although that increase could also be attributed to the company’s Q4 2017 financial results which were announced the same day.  According to that release, the company’s revenue increased 42.1 percent compared to the same quarter in 2016.

Troy Jensen from the firm Piper Jaffray currently ranks Materialise as a “moderate buy” on Tipranks.com, with a price target of $17.50 over the next 12 months.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.