Synthes Partners with Materialise in Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery

WEST CHESTER, Pennsylvania and LEUVEN, Belgium, March 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Synthes, Inc. (SWX: SYST.VX), a leading global medical device company in orthopaedic trauma, spine, and cranio-maxillofacial (CMF), and Materialise NV, a leader in the field of rapid industrial and medical prototyping and innovative software solutions, today announced an exclusive partnership for the development and distribution of Materialise's solutions for Cranio-Maxillofacial (CMF) surgery.

Under the partnership, Materialise will provide pre-operative planning services directly to the surgeon via interactive, web-based collaboration tools, and will fabricate intra-operative guides and anatomical models. Synthes will distribute these intra-operative guides and models and continue to deliver patient specific surgical implants.

The combination of Materialise's continuing commitment to research and development in the field of pre-operative planning and Synthes' track record as a leader in medical device manufacturing, including patient-specific implants for CMF surgery, makes this an excellent partnership for both companies.

Michel Orsinger, President and CEO of Synthes, commented on the partnership: "This partnership will allow Synthes to continue our mission to improve patient care by optimizing operating room time and by improving the precision of the surgery. Materialise and Synthes share the same core values: a desire to assist the patient and surgeon, as well as quality, innovation, education, and integrity. The partnership will reinforce our position as an innovator in CMF."

Wilfried Vancraen, General Manager, Materialise, is delighted with the partnership: "This partnership supports Materialise's mission for a better and healthier world, and the technology we offer adds tremendous value through patient-specific solutions in the complex field of CMF surgery. With Synthes' emphasis on surgeon education and their ability to offer our planning services and products globally we have found the right partner in Synthes as the global leader in CMF to be able to take this forward-thinking technology to the next level."

Synthes: A leading medical device company

Synthes is a leading global medical device company, specialized in the development, manufacturing and marketing of instruments, implants and biomaterials for the surgical fixation, correction and regeneration of the human skeleton and its soft tissues.

Image Bank

A selection of product and company images can be found here (http://www.synthes.com/html/Media-Corner.7325.0.html?&L=0).

About Materialise

The Materialise Group is best known for its activities in the field of rapid industrial and medical prototyping. Apart from having the largest capacity of rapid prototyping equipment in Europe, Materialise enjoys a worldwide reputation as provider of innovative software solutions.

More information

cmf@materialise.be or http://www.materialise.com/CMF

Click here to see the Restrictions Subject to US Securities Law (http://www.materialise.com/view/en/3987618)

For further information please contact

Gilgian Eisner, Investor Relations, Synthes, Inc.

Phone +41-32-720-47-45, Fax +41-32-720-48-11

Email: investor.relations@synthes.com, http://www.synthes.com