A laser-aided direct metal tooling technology for artificial joint surface coating

Abstract

Longevity of cementless arthroplasty is determined by the characteristics of the porous structure formed at the surface. However, currently used artificial joint surface coating technologies have several limitations. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate the use of an artificial surface coating technology to overcome the limitations of currently used technologies. An artificial joint surface coating that controls porosity of the porous structure formed at the surface of the artificial joint was developed based on laser-aided direct metal tooling (DMT) technology, which is a three-dimensional (3-D) additive manufacturing (AM) technology. The structural, mechanical, and physical properties of the DMT surface coating was measured in accordance with the international testing standards and compared to titanium plasma spray (TPS) surface coating, a commercially available artificial joint surface coating. DMT exhibited characteristics comparable, if not better, than the existing commercial TPS in terms of mechanical and physical properties. DMT may be useful for cementless artificial joint surface coating required the porosity control of the porous structure formed at the surface of the artificial joint and provides enhanced longevity and patient prognosis compared to the existing surface coating technologies.