Materialise Donates a Chair in Hand Surgery to the University of Leuven, Campus Kortrijk.

LEUVEN, Belgium, May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Materialise, a pioneer in medical imaging software and patient specific surgical guides, proudly donates a Chair to the University of Leuven, Campus Kortrijk.

With the "Chair Materialise- Kulak - Hand surgery", Materialise commits itself to further investments in R&D for the upper limbs to gain more insights into this complex anatomy. These insights will be used to develop new solutions for patients who, thanks to reconstructive surgery and implants, can regain full mobility. The holders of the Chair are Professors Filip Stockmans, Evie Vereecke, and Paul Herijgers. By establishing this Chair, Materialise is able to support and develop the extensive surgical experience and expertise present within Kulak, bringing together competences in anatomy and biomechanics.

Materialise has already developed innovative solutions for dental implantology (SimPlant and SurgiGuide), cranio maxillofacial surgery (SurgiCase CMF) and orthopaedic surgery (SurgiCase Orthopaedics). For each of these applications, collaboration between Materialise's engineers and the clinical specialists has been of utmost importance. Professor Stockmans, hand surgeon, has contributed greatly to the development of orthopaedic solutions. This fruitful collaboration between Professor Stockmans and Materialise is what lead to the establishment of the Chair.

Materialise previously donated Chairs to both the department of biomechanics and to the department of prosthodontics and oral surgery at the University of Leuven.

About Materialise

With its headquarters in Leuven, Belgium, and branches worldwide, Materialise has been playing an active role in the field of Additive Manufacturing since 1990. The Materialise Group not only has the largest Additive Manufacturing capacity in the world, but is also renowned for its innovative software solutions. Materialise brings its expertise to the medical world through the development of specialized software for medical imaging and patient specific surgical guides. This technology is used worldwide by renowned hospitals, research institutions, and clinicians. Using this technology, surgeons can correctly diagnose the patient, or their deformity, and make an accurate surgical planning. Surgical guides accurately transfer this planning to the operating theatre, guaranteeing a better result for the patient.

More information: [email protected] or http://www.materialise.com/ortho

SOURCE Materialise