CATS and dogs all over the UK and beyond are living happier lives thanks to an innovative combination of CT scans, computer design and 3D printing devised by a south Cumbrian company.
 

Deformities in the bones of animals are corrected using implants and screws or by cutting bones and realigning them with metal plates. However, knowing exactly where to cut the bones to correct them in the best way is a challenge, as is making sure screws or implants do not harm the patient in the process of being put in place.  

Over the last eight years specialist veterinary orthopaedic surgeon Bill Oxley has been using a technique to make the operations much more straightforward through his company Vet 3D. 

Bill first began applying the idea to his own patients by experimenting with creating CAD drawings based on data from CT scans and then using this to make 3D prints of bones. He then took the process further by using the CAD drawings to virtually experiment with different ways to carry out the surgery.  

“It’s extremely difficult to plan where to make the cut from X-rays and even from CT scans,” he says.  

“In CAD software it’s significantly easier to do because you can make a virtual cut in the bone, move it around and put it in different places. We can work out exactly how we want that bone to look and we can see it in three dimensions on the computer.” Once he had modelled how the bone should be put together, Bill could then design guides to ensure surgeons made the cuts in the right place, or to guide them as they inserted screws and implants. The guides were then 3D printed and put to use in the operating theatre.  

“When we’re planning these in the CAD software, we can plan the screw trajectory in the CAD in all three dimensions and create the guide,” says Bill.  

“As long as your drill bit goes straight down the hole in the guide it’s going to work and the animal’s going to be safe.” 

Bill soon began making guides for use by his veterinary colleagues. “This was just a hobby which I did at the weekend and it’s literally just grown organically since then,” he says.  

“I was getting so busy that I went part time with my surgical work. After another year or so it was clear I had to either do one or the other and so I went for it.” 

Bill began the business from home, but as a keen runner, cyclist and climber, he soon relocated to the Lake District. “When I started all we needed for this was an internet connection and the postal service,” he says.  “I love the Lakes so when I got the chance to work anywhere, I thought I’d live here.” 

The business now employs five people at its office in Billy’s Space in Staveley, supplying products to veterinary practices all over the UK, as well as Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia. As well as guides, in some cases the team design plates and implants of titanium alloy or medical grade steel to hold bones in place. These are manufactured by an engineering company in Ireland. 

The team includes engineers and computer designers, while Bill has the expertise to consult with veterinary surgeons and develop the best designs to fit their approach to each individual surgery. They work alongside a bank of 3D printers which busily create the guides in their office. “We are doing ongoing research to demonstrate the advantages of the 3D planning approach,” says Bill. 

“If you read the scientific literature, it’s pretty much proven that these are quicker to do, they’re more accurate, and the result of those two things is that you get fewer complications. 

“It’s not just good for the patient, it is actually good for the practice as well. If you add up the saving in time for the surgeon – not having to pay for complications, not having to deal with inaccurate results – these things actually add up to quite a cost saving.” 

So far this year Bill says the number of cases it has helped with has grown by up to 40 per cent. “We used to be busy if we had four new cases in a week but now we can have four come in in a day,” he says.  

In fact the potential market is so massive that the company’s only problem is how to scale and keep up with demand. “People are now understanding the power of what we can do,” says Bill.  

“There’s a huge range of uptake among different surgeons.”