Case Study: Mighty Oak Medical achieves precise, patient-specific spinal surgery with 3D Systems

Innovative Surgery Guided by 3D Printing Alleviates Pain for Champion Sled Hockey Player

3D Systems partnered with Mighty Oak Medical to support FIREFLY® pedicle-screw navigation for complex spinal surgery. The patient case was unusually challenging—previous fusions, bone growth over implanted rods and CT imaging artifacts meant surgeons had to plan around nine vertebrae, the sacrum and hips to avoid critical nerves and the spinal cord.

3D Systems segmented the CT scans into detailed 3D models, then printed a sterilizable anatomical reference and 10 patient‑specific FIREFLY surgical guides on its ProX® 800 SLA system to define precise screw trajectories. The guides enabled accurate placement during a 15‑hour fusion performed by Dr. Frey, resulting in marked pain relief, improved function and an ongoing recovery.

Mighty Oak Medical

Heidi Frey

Mighty Oak Medical