While patient-matched instrumentation has been in use in orthopaedic surgery for around a decade, this is the first time that PSI has been available from an Australian manufacturer.

Dr Jason Ward has started working with Australian company Specifica to plan, design and manufacture surgical instruments that are tailored to each patient.

A patient’s individual knee alignment is unique, some would say as unique as a fingerprint.  Personalising knee alignment is important to give the best functional outcome and a ‘natural feel’ knee for patients undergoing knee replacement surgery.

After making a decision for surgery, Dr Ward will refer patients for CT and EOS scans to look at their lower limb alignment.  This information is sent to Specifica and the planning phase commences.  A three-dimensional surgical treatment plan is developed by Dr Ward and the medical scientists, producing personalised instrumentation based on the patient’s individual anatomical alignment.

The PSI is manufactured using 3D printing technology in Australia, reducing both the time taken for manufacture and shipping, and the cost of the instruments. Dr Ward is pleased to support advanced medical manufacturing in Australia and enjoys direct interaction with Australian medical scientists to support this growing industry.