The turtle, named AKUT-3, was facing a lifetime in captivity when it was found by volunteers and brought to Pamukkale University’s Research, Rescue and Rehabilitation center (DEKAMER) in Turkey.
AKUT-3 was hit by a boat propeller that sheared off its jaws leaving him unable to feed on his own in the wild. His rescuers fed him by hand before turning to biotechnology company Biotech Innovation.
The Turkish company specializes in 3D-printed medical prosthetic. It developed a titanium jaw and beak for AKUT-3 from CT scans of the injured turtle.
“We first see the CT and MRI of the patients and in this case it is a sea turtle, then we convert these to the images of 3D models that we can make engineering on. At the later stage we design a patient-specific implant that perfectly matches the patient’s needs and the facts and it perfectly fits its anatomy and later on actually this is the best implant solution that patient can get because this is made case-by-case and specifically designed for that patient,” said Biotech Innovation’s director of research and development, Kuntay Aktas.
He said the new jaw is a perfect fit for the 45kg (99 lb) loggerhead turtle.
“In this case two thirds of its upper and lower jaw was missing because of a tragic accident and unfortunately the sea turtle was not able to eat on its own and apparently there was no way to release him to the wild because it would never be eating on its own. However we designed a custom implant for its upper and lower jaw and that perfectly mimics its healthy jaws and we made the necessary analyses, like element analysis, motion analysis so forth and so on and at the later stage we manufactured by 3D printing from a medical grade titanium.”
The veterinarians looking after AKUT-3 performed the surgery attaching the titanium implant to what remained of the turtle’s jaw.
Loggerhead sea turtles, known also by their scientific name Caretta caretta, are considered endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Their diet typically consists of shellfish, making a strong jaw and beak essential. The Turkish coast provides nesting grounds for Mediterranean loggerheads.
AKUT-3’s ‘terminator’ jaw is not the only 3D printed implant used in animals. In the United States, a student from Colorado Technical University designed a prosthetic shell for Cleopatra the tortoise who had a damaged and painful shell, while Stumpy the box turtle has a new 3D-printed prosthetic leg courtesy of California’s May Howard elementary school.