The advances of topology optimization techniques in medical metallic implants

Abstract

As an increasing need for metal implant species and quantities in the clinical application, the demands of structure for the implants have been increased, accompanying the rapid development of 3D printing technology and the progress of medical combination with engineering also made it possible to fabricate complex implants. On this basis, the topology optimization of structure in the finite element analysis technique has been developed gradually, and the application of this technique has greatly improved the biomechanical properties of implants. This review introduces the applications of topology optimization technology in implant structure design, and summarizes the researches of topology optimization technique in the field of medical implant mainly on the department of maxillofacial surgery and orthopedics. In the field of orthopedics, topology optimization technique is most widely used, and in the structural design of joint prosthesis, internal fixation and spinal implant, the obvious progress was obtained in both theory and practice. Finally, the paper put forward the prospect of the trend for the topology optimization design of metal implants in the future. Key words: Topology optimization; Implants; Maxillofacial surgery; Orthopedics.