Case Study: University Hospital Brussels, Belgium achieves more accurate and faster hip biomechanics restoration with Materialise's Mimics Innovation Suite

A 3D Templating Study on Restoring Hip Biomechanics with Cemented Femoral Hip Implants

University Hospital Brussels, Belgium (Prof. Thierry Scheerlinck and team) needed an efficient, reproducible way to compare two cemented femoral implant systems across 30 patients to assess restoration of hip biomechanics (offset, anteversion and length). To run a head‑to‑head evaluation and templating study they worked with Materialise and used the Mimics Innovation Suite Scripting module to automate virtual implantations and measurements.

Using Materialise’s Mimics scripting workflow the team segmented 30 femurs, automatically landmarked and sized implants, and aligned stems to restore both anatomic and 5 mm medialized rotation centers; the script generated each stem/femur combination in ~10 seconds vs ~30 minutes manually. Results showed Stem 1 outperformed Stem 2 (anatomic mean distance: Stem 1 0.97 ±0.88 mm vs Stem 2 1.66 ±1.59 mm; Stem 1 restored within 5 mm in 30/30 cases vs 28/30 for Stem 2; medialized mean distance: Stem 1 1.38 ±1.63 mm vs Stem 2 3.61 ±2.73 mm, with 29/30 vs 25/30 within 5 mm). Materialise’s solution improved throughput and consistency and supported the authors’ recommendation that templating is mandatory, especially when aiming for medialized reconstructions.

University Hospital Brussels, Belgium

Thierry Scheerlinck

Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology