ConforMIS, a US-based medical-technology company responsible for “the first ever 3-D designed primary total hip replacement system” has launched its first two hip implants.

The first surgeries using its system were performed at the end of July by Gregory Martin, an orthopaedic surgeon at the JFK Medical Centre in Atlantis, Florida.

He said: “The ConforMIS hip system is designed to address many of the shortcomings of primary hip replacement today. For the first time, orthopaedic surgeons have a fully guided system designed to address the wide variations in anatomy they are presented with.”

In the past two years, the FDA has cleared a number of 3-D printed medical implants to be surgically placed inside the human body.

Hip implants are responsible for a wide range of body movements; with additive manufacturing, they can be created to perfectly match a patient’s anatomy.

Mark Augusti, CEO of ConforMIS (www.conformis.com), says that the global hip replacement market is worth an estimated $7 billion.

He expects the company to “lead the way in innovative solutions by providing surgeons with game-changing operative solutions to better serve them and their patients in hospitals and ambulatory surgical settings.”