LEUVEN, Belgium, Feb. 3 — (PRNewswire) — > LEUVEN, Belgium, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ - After an extensive period of beta testing involving renowned hospitals and doctors, Materialise is proud to launch SurgiCase Connect 1.0, the next revolution in virtual surgery planning, 3D model generation, and surgical guide design. SurgiCase Connect is an interactive tool which plays an essential role in Materialise's solution for orthopaedic surgeons, SurgiCase Orthopaedics. It has already proven invaluable to many hand and wrist surgeons worldwide faced with challenging surgeries: malunions, non-unions, or instances of congenital deformities.

Downloaded for free from the Materialise website, SurgiCase Connect allows for the quick upload of CT/MRI scanned images directly to Materialise's clinical engineers who convert the images to the 3D models used to create surgical plans. SurgiCase Connect's user-friendly interface and interactive features make it easy for engineers and surgeons to then work as a team to simulate a number of different approaches in order to find the optimal surgical plan for the individual patient.

With a surgical plan in place, Materialise's engineers use SurgiCase Connect to consult with the surgeon in the designing of patient-specific surgical guides, used to ensure the highest possible precision in drilling and cutting. These guides allow for the surgical plan to be brought into the operating room and successfully carried out. In addition, SurgiCase Connect allows for the easy tracking of cases.

An early adopter of SurgiCase Connect, Dr. Stockmans (KULeuven, Campus Kortrijk, Belgium) says: "The possibility of visualizing the pathology in 3D and trying different approaches prior to going into surgery is tremendous. Individualized cut and drill guides have helped me shorten the intervention period, enabling me to treat more cases in the same amount of time. The engineers at Materialise are very professional. I feel much more confident going into the OR."

Materialise will be launching SurgiCase Connect in the United States at the upcoming AAOS 2011 annual meeting in San Diego, CA. With the development of its SurgiCase cut and drill guides, Materialise takes a huge step towards putting custom tools in the palm of hand and wrist surgeons.

SurgiCase Connect will be available for testing at Materialise's booth at AAOS, number 1850.

More information:
www.materialise.com/orthopaedics/SurgiCase-Connect
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