Laser polished fused deposition poly-lactic acid objects for personalized orthopaedic application

Yuan Chai,Xiao-Bo Chen,Qing-Hua Qin,Nick Birbilis,Joseph Lynch,Donghai Zhang,Paul N. Smith,Rachel W. Li

doi:10.1007/s42452-020-03637-7

Yuan Chai, Xiao-Bo Chen + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-03637-7

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Abstract

Patient-specific surgical guides are increasingly demanded. Material Extrusion (ME) is a popular 3D printing technique to fabricate personalized surgical guides. However, the ME process usually generates deleterious surface topography which is not suitable for orthopaedic emergencies. We designed and optimized parametric combinations of a laser polishing approach as post process to improve the surface quality of ME-made poly-lactic acid (PLA) objects. In this study, we investigated the contribution of processing variables to the mechanical properties and the biocompatibilities in vitro of the ME-made PLA objects. Conventional surface grinding was conducted as comparison. The results demonstrate that the ME-made PLA samples exhibit good mechanical properties and favourable biocompatibility after being post processed using laser polishing. The post laser polishing, as a powerful tool in manufacture of ME-made PLA objects, will open a new approach with a great promise in its applications in personalized and timely management of medical emergencies.

Highlights

Orthopaedic implants and surgical guides are usually standardized products that are categorized into a limited number of sizes to fit all patients [1]
The human primary osteoblast cells (OBs) were derived from normal human trabecular bone specimens as we previously described with mild modifications [8], with the permission of the Australia Capital Territory (ACT) Health Human Research Ethics Committee
The result indicates that parameters of laser polishing treatment that we set for this project induced ignorable material evaporation

Summary

Introduction

Orthopaedic implants and surgical guides are usually standardized products that are categorized into a limited number of sizes to fit all patients [1]. The geometric mismatch between a surgical device and individual bone increases the possibility of nerve roots or visceral damage [4, 5], biomechanical disadvantages [6], implant mobility and loosening [7], and implant failure [8]. Good fitting accuracy of implants or surgical guides will reduce the risk of body rejection and complications, and influence on the osseointegration at the interface between bone and implants after surgery, which will largely improve clinical outcomes. Patientspecific surgical guides are increasingly demanded, by orthopaedic surgeons worldwide in planning their surgeries and improving the accuracy during their performances [10]

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