Siemens 2013 Annual Report Download - page 58

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 – Before an implant is milled in
the real world, all production steps
are planned in a virtual environ-
ment and approved by the implant
manufacturer. Only then does the
machine tool begin production.
 – At the Centre for Production
Technology at Leibnitz University
in Hanover, Germany, Professor
Berend Denkena and Sabine Fietz
discuss the challenges, opportuni-
ties and future of industrially pro-
duced implants.
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“We all have to think more
like visionaries”
Professor Berend Denkena, who holds a
doctorate in engineering, is a machining
expert. He’s well aware of how important
absolute precision is in the field of medical
technology, where micrometer exactness
is a must. As head of the Institute for Pro-
duction Engineering and Machine Tools
at Leibniz University in Hanover, Germany,
Professor Denkena is working on a variety
of research and development projects in
medical technology and prosthetics.
In his view, Siemens’ solutions for the indus-
trial production of implants are an import-
ant advance – one that points the way to
the future. As he explains, the key is to inte-
grate the entire process chain from begin-
ning to end: “The problems are usually at
the interfaces – from product design, sim-
ulation and planning to the operation or
programming of the machine tools to the
actual production. For its products, Siemens
maps end-to-end process chains. And in
my opinion that’s a key prerequisite for suc-
cess.” Sabine Fietz adds: “However, we’re
already thinking about ways to continue
developing the process. Our goal is to
make implant production ever faster, more
efficient and cheaper. Why? Because the
standard implants used today can’t be ad-
justed to the bone conditions that physi-
cians discover only after an operation is in
progress. As things are now, surgeons ei-
ther have to remove healthy tissue or fill
damaged tissue with cement – in other
words, they have to adapt the patient to
the implant instead of tailoring the implant
to the patient. We’re working on solutions
that – building on an end-to-end, almost
fully automated process chain – may en-
able implant manufacturers and their part-
ners to produce prosthetics in the future
that are better tailored to individual patient
requirements. With rigorously improved
procedures, it could even become possible
to produce implants in hospitals while op-
erations are taking place.” In Professor
Denkena’s opinion, such a solution is quite
conceivable. “Implants are currently being
manufactured on conventional machine
tools. Even when the greatest possible care
is taken and the workpiece is sterilized
upon completion, contamination may oc-
cur. That’s why we have to find a way to
operate machine tools under sterile con-
ditions. But this will require a team effort
involving a wide range of experts from
different fields. And it will take time. Ulti-
mately, the best option would be to manu-
facture directly on site, but many chal-
lenges will have to be mastered before
that’s a reality.”
The improvements we’re developing are
intended to make procedures less burden-
some for patients by fitting the prosthetic
to the bone rather than the other way
around. Physicians will also benefit since
they’ll be able to optimize the implant
during surgery, once they’ve seen the joint.
“We all have to think more like visionaries,”
says Sabine Fietz. “Our solution shows
what production processes are going to
look like in the future. Modern software
solutions are bringing the virtual and real
manufacturing worlds closer together,
while creating unprecedented momentum
and flexibility. For our customers, that
means more efficient processes, shorter
time-to-market and, last but not least,
higher productivity at lower cost.”
Enhancing industrial productivity
Creating efficient solutions