Countdown to a New Knee

Joint replacement surgery as we know it today has come a long way in 40 years.

Like thousands of other Australians, Shivahari Sellamuttu has suffered from knee pain and discomfort for years.

Until now, manufactured knee parts have only been imported and used in total knee replacement surgeries. Luckily, an Australian skills solution is at hand that will enable Shiv and many others to walk with ease again.

Rick Lucchini is the Regulatory Affairs Director at Global Manufacturing Technology, a manufacturing company in Unanderra near Wollongong, New South Wales.

This manufacturer is an example where trade skilled staff work alongside clinical advisors to design and manufacture suitable parts used by surgeons here and abroad. Australian surgeons, scientists, engineers and manufacturers have long led the world in their respective fields in terms of innovation and excellence.

With 46,000 joint replacements annually and hubs for manufacturing in places like Indiana USA, a career in the orthopedic manufacturing sector affords the possibility of travel and work in Australia and overseas.

This story takes us through the process of engineering and manufacturing the knee parts, while Dr John Rooney is the talented orthopaedic surgeon who performs the operation.