‘Before 3D-planned surgery, many patients were simply not operated on optimally, or not at all, because it wasn’t clear how to correct the deviation accurately,’ explains Nick Assink, technical physician at the 3D Lab. With support from the Impact Accelerator Grant, this advanced approach is now being introduced in regional hospitals across the Northern Netherlands, allowing more patients to receive care closer to home and giving regional surgeons hands-on experience with patient-specific surgical guides.
‘Previously, surgeons had to determine how to perform the correction based on two-dimensional images,’ Assink explains. With 3D-planned surgery, a three-dimensional reconstruction is created, allowing the correction to be planned in all dimensions. 3D-printed patient-specific surgical guides then translate this plan directly to the operating room. ‘The surgical guide only fits in one way, ensuring that it is positioned on the bone exactly as planned,’ Assink explains.
3D-printed patient-specific surgical guides
Despite its clinical advantages, access to 3D-planned bone corrections is limited. Capacity constraints at the UMCG and long travel distances mean that not all eligible patients in the Northern region can benefit from this approach. Through the grant-funded project, Nick Assink and Daniëlle van Veldhuizen, postdoctoral researcher and biomedical engineer, implemented the technique in regional hospitals across Northern Netherlands, contributing to more equitable access to specialised orthopaedic-trauma care.
To bring 3D-planned surgery to regional hospitals, the entire clinical and logistical workflow had to be implemented, from preoperative planning to the actual use of the surgical guides. ‘The threshold to start something like this is very high,’ says Assink. ‘But once it is up and running, it works well. With the support of the grant, we could really give the implementation within the region a kickstart.’
Regional surgeons were given low-threshold access to the UMCG 3D-lab, allowing them to submit cases in which 3D-planned surgery might be beneficial. When a case was eligible, surgical planning and execution was carried out jointly. Alongside patient care, the project also invested in training early-career orthopaedic specialists to gain experience with patient-specific surgery guides. ‘By taking all these steps, we believe we have cleared the way for broader implementation of this technique,’ Assink concludes.
Surgeons in regional hospitals confirm the added value of the project in daily practice. ‘If you plan these surgeries using 3D-technology, you can achieve almost perfect corrections,’ says Roderick Wouters, trauma surgeon at Nij Smellinghe. ‘And I can now treat these patients locally in Drachten,’ he adds.
Treating patients closer to home reduces the travel burden and increases access to 3D-planned surgery. ‘The advantage of regional hospitals is that we can often plan these patients much faster than in an academic centre,’ Wouters explains. As a result, more eligible patients can be treated regionally, while academic centres can focus on more complex cases.
To date, approximately 30 patients across the northern provinces have been treated within this programme, demonstrating the feasibility of regional implementation. The use of 3D analysis for these patients not only improved surgery outcomes. In several cases, 3D analysis demonstrated that no significant rotational deviation was present, preventing unnecessary surgery and avoiding additional healthcare costs and patient burden.
The experiences gained within this project demonstrate how 3D-planned care supports more precise, individualised decision-making and prevents unnecessary procedures. More importantly, it shows how targeted impact funding can transform academic expertise into tangible improvements in regional healthcare delivery, ensuring that academic innovation translates into lasting change in everyday clinical practice. In collaboration with the UMCG, regional partners are now exploring the development of their own 3D facilities, laying the groundwork for further sustainable regional adoption.
