Puruiting Medical Empowers Digital Precision Healthcare with 3D Technologies, Enabling Surgeons to 'Cross the River While Seeing the Stones'

The rise of precision medicine is driving clinical diagnosis and treatment toward digitalization and precision. As emerging digital technologies, 3D reconstruction and 3D printing are further facilitating the practical implementation of precision medicine.

3D reconstruction presents traditional two-dimensional images in a three-dimensional format to physicians, enhancing visualization. When integrated with diagnostic software, it guides surgeons in evaluating lesions, formulating surgical plans, and performing precise procedures. 3D printing creates physical models of human organs and tissues, providing tactile feedback for physicians. By replicating pathological conditions, it facilitates research and treatment simulation. Additionally, 3D printing can be used to customize implants, offering personalized and precise treatment solutions.

“Development Plan for the Medical Equipment Industry (2021-2025)” mentions promoting the integration, embedding, and upgrading of traditional medical equipment with new technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, industrial internet, cloud computing, and 3D printing. In some regions, 3D reconstruction technology services have been included in the fee-charging items, and 3D printing technology services have also been incorporated into the charging system, primarily concentrated in orthopedics and dentistry.

3D technology is gradually becoming an accelerator for digital precision diagnosis and treatment.

During surgical procedures, clinicians perform operations under the guidance of imaging modalities such as CT and MRI, requiring mental registration of two-dimensional images with the patient’s physical anatomy. This process is prone to deviations and relies heavily on the physician’s individual experience. Furthermore, there is a lack of effective visualization information during preoperative surgical planning and postoperative assessment of disease progression. In the context of promoting precision medicine and tiered diagnosis and treatment, there is an urgent clinical need for more intuitive and intelligent imaging models to enhance overall healthcare quality.

Targeting clinical needs, a highly executive team was thus established.Qian Xiaofeng, who has many years of operational experience at leading domestic enterprises, assembled a multidisciplinary team comprising experts in clinical medicine, medical imaging, pharmacy, nursing, bioengineering, and biomechanical analysis, and founded Anhui Puruiting Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Puruiting Medical”) in October 2019.

Since its inception, Pritin Medical has been dedicated to the mission of “making surgery simpler” through 3D reconstruction and 3D printing technologies. The company boasts an internal team with a strong background in the integration of medicine and engineering, while actively pursuing external medical-engineering collaborations with top-tier universities and hospitals in China. In September 2020, Pritin Medical, together with Dr. Du Jianhang and Dr. Tian Shuai from the Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, formed a team to participate in the 12th Shenzhen Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, where they won the Second Prize in the Dapeng New District Division.

To date, Pretin Medical has become a national high-tech enterprise and joined the platforms of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and China Voice Valley. Leveraging platform resources, the company promotes its subsequent scientific research and product commercialization.

The 3D reconstruction services provided by Pretin Medical can generate three-dimensional data from imaging modalities such as CT and MRI, using algorithms for rendering, segmentation, and fusion. This technology enables the transparent visualization of any human organ or vasculature, allowing for arbitrary rotation and scaling to facilitate repeated observation by physicians. Furthermore, based on these 3D models, Pretin Medical can produce physical models via 3D printing for clinical research purposes.

Compared with physical models created by 3D printing technology, 3D reconstruction represents the secondary development and application of medical imaging data, and is applicable to tumor treatment in departments such as hepatobiliary surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, urology, and neurosurgery.The two are complementary: the prerequisite for 3D printing is a high-quality 3D reconstruction data model, while the foundation of 3D reconstruction lies in the accumulation and processing of clinical data.

In response to sudden major medical events, 3D printing can rapidly facilitate the analysis of physical model evolution and the delivery of physical models, enabling clinicians to directly observe pathological conditions. Leveraging 3D printing technology, Prentin Medical launched the first 3D-printed lung model for COVID-19, facilitating in-depth research and analysis of case-specific physical specimens by experts and physicians.

Leveraging a multidisciplinary team integrating medicine and engineering, Puruiting Medical can independently provide services such as 3D reconstruction of raw data, 3D printing, and academic research. With proven expertise in orthopedic finite element analysis, the company offers comprehensive solutions spanning preoperative planning, intraoperative navigation and positioning, and postoperative rehabilitation tracking and feedback. This end-to-end approach aims to streamline the entire patient treatment journey, delivering more holistic solutions for clinical practice.

Pruitin Medical has chosen orthopedics as its entry point. With the deepening aging of China’s population, the demand for orthopedic treatments is on the rise. Orthopedic implant devices represent one of the largest sub-segments within the medical device industry. In China, there are over 6 million patients suffering from bone defects or functional impairments each year, among whom approximately 4 million require bone grafting procedures, indicating a substantial target market.

Pruitin Medical leverages 3D reconstruction technology to generate three-dimensional models of the spine, bone joints, and other structures for preoperative assessment, surgical planning, and intraoperative guidance. By integrating 3D reconstruction with computational fluid dynamics, the company conducts finite element biomechanical analyses of the shoulder joint and the atlantoaxial complex, thereby further assisting orthopedic surgeons in delivering precise diagnosis and treatment.

Meanwhile, 3D printing can be used to generate simulation models for preoperative planning and to print surgical guides that assist surgeons intraoperatively by helping them locate the operative site and orientation, thereby enhancing procedural precision. In addition to orthopedic surgery, 3D printing can also be employed to customize therapeutic and rehabilitation devices, providing external fixation braces, prosthetic implants, and more.

According to Qian Xiaofeng, founder of Pretin Medical:3D printing holds significant analytical and reference value in the classification of complex fractures, the classification of scoliosis, the differential diagnosis of bone tumors, and the assessment of the severity of joint injuries.Beyond orthopedics, 3D printing will see expanded applications in fields such as neurosurgery and vascular surgery, including 3D-printed artificial blood vessels and personalized 3D-printed tablets.

To date,Puritai Medical has cultivated clients across multiple sectors, including research and medical institutions such as the MD Anderson Cancer Center in the United States, the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Beijing Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northeastern University, the Chinese PLA General Hospital, and Tongji Hospital affiliated with Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

Currently, Pretin Medical is developing a 2D/3D data cloud platform system and a client-side delivery system. Meanwhile, the company is planning to launch an angel funding round to further accelerate the clinical implementation of its 3D technologies. According to Qian Xiaofeng, as emerging technologies, 3D reconstruction and 3D printing will be initially adopted by large medical institutions before gradually penetrating secondary healthcare facilities, thereby benefiting a broader patient population. Therefore, the company’s growth will not happen overnight; it requires concerted efforts from clinical practitioners, enterprises, investors, and policymakers.

Enabling physicians to transition from “2D to 3D, and from digital to visual” is an inevitable trend in clinical development.