Endoprostheses and esoprostheses: an economic analysis of the adoption of 3D printing in the Italian orthopaedic manufacturing sector

The entire history of mankind, since prehistoric times, has been characterized by a continuous process of technology development related to discovery, transformation and utilization of materials. The degree of evolution of the society is commensurate to the ability of man to convert raw materials into utensils, indeed we talk about Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age. Nevertheless, it is hard to identify a class of material which characterizes modern man; only in the XX century new materials such as polymers, alloys and composites have revolutionized the entire scenario. After the advent of new materials, it is the development of new technologies which makes possible to obtain products, also functionally different, starting from a limited series of materials. The technological ability to transform raw materials in order to obtain an artefact with its own function, is of crucial importance. One of the more powerful and revolutionary technology of the last years is represented by 3D printing, which belongs to the wider field of Additive Manufacturing (AM). It will, and is already, change the way in which products are manufactured, from simple objects to medical devices. In this thesis, we will analyse the economic impact of 3D printing technology in the Italian orthopaedic manufacturing sector. Initially, in the first and second chapter, we deal with the history of prostheses: we start from the history of biomechanics which is the mechanical study of human body and then we will describe what a prosthetic implant is and its general features. The third chapter is concerned about the traditional manufacturing process of orthopaedic prostheses both for endoprostheses and esoprosthesis. The use of materials and the general manufacturing process will be described. In the four chapter we move attention to Additive Manufacturing, describing its history and the technologies that have been developed. Then, we deal with the widen horizon of Additive Manufacturing looking at its diffusion process and, then, analysing the implications of this technology under an Intellectual Property aspect. The five chapter deals with the 3D printing process for producing prosthetic implants. We will examine the related technologies and then the impact of 3D printing process on the existing manufacturing models. In the last chapters we will examine in depth the market of medical devices and what is the effect that Additive Manufacturing has had on it. By performing a sector study our ultimate goal is the understanding of the impact of AM on the Italian orthopaedic manufacturing sector.