Chapter 7 - Additive manufacturing techniques used for preparation of scaffolds in bone repair and regeneration

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques are of great importance for the resurrection of large segmental bone defects because they can produce scaffolds with patient-specific and customized external design mimicking the porous architecture of bone. The scaffold fabrication process is generally comprised of scaffold design, AM, and posttreatments in sequential order. To start with, state-of-the-art of scaffold design, including computer-aided design, reverse modeling, topology optimization, and mathematical modeling, are discussed here. Next, numerous typical AM techniques, such as fused deposition modeling, electron beam melting, selective laser sintering, stereolithography, extrusion-based printing, inkjet printing, and electrospinning, are presented with emphasis on their working principles, advantages, and limitations. Moreover, the most prevalent posttreatments of the bone scaffolds, with a primary focus on heat and surface treatments, are elaborated with specific examples to improve the mechanical and biological properties of the AM-derived products. In the end, this highlights specific challenges and future scope for AM-derived scaffolds for the repair and regeneration of musculoskeletal defects and disorders.