Abstract

The paradigm shift towards digital manufacturing [1] is seen in additive manufacturing (AM) corporate annual industry growth at 17.4% increase in 2016 to $6.063 billion, with 11% attributed to the biomedical sector [2]. The adoption of AM in healthcare has boomed since 2010 by a 3200% increase in hospitals with AM facilities [2]. Forecasts predict that AM will become common, with a disruptive effect on supply chains [2]. For high-value custom surgical instruments and implants, the metal AM design-to-fabrication lifecycle is performed via costly empirical approaches, hindering widespread technology acceptance [3]; thus, metal AM technologies have not yet reached their full potential in the healthcare industry. With the rapid growth of AM in the field of medical [4], several technologies are becoming popular in producing medical implants. Such technologies need to be distinguished precisely with respect to their capabilities to produce a specific implant. Customization of implants’ complex manufacturing approaches, and is nowadays possible by AM. Therefore, the rising demand for the use of AM technologies for the medical implant production shows its importance for different stakeholders in the healthcare industry and is expected to be continued in the future.

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