Rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing in medicine and dentistry

Abstract

The fundamentals and latest developments of Rapid Prototyping (RP) and Rapid Manufacturing (RM) technologies and the application of most common biomaterials such as titanium and titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) are discussed in this paper. The issues while fabricating pre-surgical models, scaffolds for cell growth and tissue engineering and concerning fabrication of medical implants and dental prostheses are addressed. Major resources related to RP/RM technology, biocompatible materials and RP/RM applications in medicine and dentistry are reviewed. A large number of papers published in leading journals are searched. Besides the titanium and titanium alloys which were established as bio-compatible materials over five decades ago, other biocompatible materials such as cobalt-chromium and PEEK have also been increasingly used in medical implants and dental prosthesis fabrication. For over a decade RP technologies such as Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Selective Laser Melting (SLM) along with the Fused Depositing Modelling (FDM) are predominantly employed in the fabrication of implants, prostheses and scaffolds. Recently Electron Beam Melting (EBM) has been successfully employed for fabrication of medical implants and dental prostheses with complex features. In dentistry crown restoration, the use of thin copings of Ti6Al4V made by the EBM process is an emerging trend. This review is based upon the findings published in highly cited papers during the last two decades. However the major breakthrough in the field of RP/RM for medical implants and dental prostheses took place in the last decade. The fabrication of medical implants and prostheses and biological models have three distinct characteristics: low volume, complex shapes and they are highly customised. These characteristics make them suitable to be made by RM technologies even on a commercial scale. Finally, current status and methodology and their limitations as well as future directions are discussed.