Additive Manufacturing in Bone Tissue Engineering

Abstract

The fact that 500,000 people in the USA need bone graft each year underscores the importance of bone remodeling. Due to the limitations of autograft and allograft methods, bone tissue engineering (BTE) has become increasingly important. Since BTE scaffolds must have unique properties to adapt to the patient’s body, it is crucial to choose the material and the method of making these scaffolds. Additive manufacturing (AM) is a relatively new method for making these scaffolds. In this chapter, different AM methods and materials for making BTE scaffolds are examined. It can be seen that among the seven categories of AM methods, EBM and SLM are more used in the construction of BTE scaffolds. And various materials such as ceramics, metals, synthetic and natural polymers, and composites, as well as their pros and cons were discussed. Using the AM method, scaffolds can be made with different kinds of structures and porosities. Unit cells to make these structures can be polyhedron, TPMS, Truss, and FGS, each of which will be elaborated in this chapter. Experimental studies show that growth factor, porosity, scaffold structure, and the material play a vital role in obtaining the desired mechanical properties.