Living with chronic pain from osteoarthritis (OA) can feel like a life sentence. Simple activities, like walking up stairs or getting out of a chair, become a daily struggle. For millions of people, the only solution has been to wait until the disease progresses to the point where a full knee replacement is necessary. But what if there was another way? A way to find relief sooner and extend the life of your natural knee?
Thanks to a breakthrough in medical technology, that future is here. Researchers at the University of Bath’s Centre for Therapeutic Innovation have developed a groundbreaking treatment: personalized 3D printed knee plates.
What is this new treatment and how does it work?
The new approach is called Tailored Osteotomy for Knee Alignment, or TOKA. It uses a well-established surgical procedure called high-tibial osteotomy (HTO). In HTO, a surgeon makes a small cut in the tibia (shin bone) to realign the knee joint. This shifts the weight from the damaged, arthritic part of the knee to a healthier section, providing much-needed relief.
What makes TOKA revolutionary is the use of patient-specific 3D printed implants. Instead of using generic, off-the-shelf plates, the team creates a personalized surgical guide and a custom plate from a medical-grade titanium alloy.
Here’s how it works:
- First, the patient gets a CT scan of their knee.
- Using this scan, engineers create a precise digital model of the patient’s anatomy.
- A surgical guide and the custom HTO plate are then 3D printed to perfectly match the patient’s tibia.
This personalized approach offers several huge advantages. It allows the surgeon to meticulously plan the operation beforehand, which can significantly shorten the time you’re on the operating table. The custom-fit plate also means better stability, improved comfort, and a quicker, more effective recovery.
Why is this such a game-changer?
The real power of TOKA lies in its timing. Currently, many patients with early-stage knee OA have to manage their pain for years, sometimes decades, before their condition is severe enough for a full knee replacement. This is a difficult and painful waiting game.
TOKA changes all that. It’s a treatment that can be performed in the early stages of osteoarthritis, providing pain relief and a better quality of life long before a knee replacement is on the horizon. It’s about preserving your natural joint and giving you back your mobility sooner.
This innovative procedure is already getting the green light for trials in the UK and Italy, bringing us one step closer to a future where personalized medicine is the standard, and living with debilitating knee pain is a thing of the past.
