Journal
JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH PART A
Volume 83A, Issue 2, Pages 272-279Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.31231
Keywords
interbody fusion cage; topology optimization; titanium alloy; selective laser melting; porous tantalum
Funding
- NIDCR NIH HHS [DE13608, DE13416] Funding Source: Medline
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A topology optimized lumbar interbody fusion cage was made of Ti-A16-V4 alloy by the rapid prototyping process of selective laser melting (SLM) to reproduce designed microstructure features. Radiographic characterizations and the mechanical properties were investigated to determine how the structural characteristics of the fabricated cage were reproduced from design characteristics using micro-computed tomography scanning. The mechanical modulus of the designed cage was also measured to compare with tantalum, a widely used porous metal. The designed microstructures can be clearly seen in the micrographs of the micro-CT and scanning electron microscopy examinations, showing the SLM process can reproduce intricate microscopic features from the original designs. No imaging artifacts from micro-CT were found. The average compressive modulus of the tested caged was 2.97 +/- 0.90 GPa, which is comparable with the reported porous tantalum modulus of 3 GPa and falls between that of cortical bone (15 GPa) and trabecular bone (0.1-0.5 GPa). The new porous Ti-6A14V optimal-structure cage fabricated by SLM process gave consistent mechanical properties without artifactual distortion in the imaging modalities and thus it can be a promising alternative as a porous implant for spine fusion. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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