The Leipzig-based company BellaSeno develops breast implants made of a polymer structure that can be colonized by the body's own cells after implantation. Within two years, the implanted material is completely degraded by the body, so that after this period the reconstructed breast of the patient again consists entirely of her own tissue. However, the production of resorbable implants using 3D printing processes is still characterized by many manual and therefore error-prone production steps.
The aim of the "BellaFactum" research project was therefore to develop a fully automated production system that makes the entire manufacturing process more controlled, efficient and cost-effective. This enables even more patients to benefit from this type of natural breast reconstruction in the future.
Our Solution
The research project combined BellaSeno's extensive knowledge of 3D printing high-quality, resorbable breast implants with the Fraunhofer IPT's many years of experience in the development of fully automated cleanroom production facilities.
The result of the project was the development of a production system that controls the polymer supply, the handling of the implants, the quality control, the labeling as well as the recording of all data for the traceability of the medical products fully automated. Robotic systems and intelligent software was used to prevent quality variations, human errors and implant contamination, and to multiply the number of implants produced.
The goal was to complete an industrial prototype of the new production platform.
Consortium
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Aachen
- BellaSeno GmbH, Leipzig
Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT