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Point-of-care additive fused filament manufacturing of patient-specific triflange acetabular reconstruction implants
Thesis   Open access

Point-of-care additive fused filament manufacturing of patient-specific triflange acetabular reconstruction implants

Ansh Asit Gandhi
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Sep 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00010676
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Abstract

Additive manufacturing Custom Fused filament fabrication Implant Point-of-care testing Triflange Bioengineering
Significant loss of bone, resulting in pelvic discontinuity, often requires surgical reconstruction to integrate patient-specific triflange cup implants for severe cases. Current cups are typically composed of metal alloys that are additively manufactured using methods like laser-powder bed fusion (LPBF). This can inflate the cost and difficulty of achieving the precision necessary to manufacture patient-specific geometry, resulting in the use of standardized implants. Additionally, metal implants have been known to cause side effects like metallosis and tissue damage. To address these difficulties, more practical additive manufacturing methods with biocompatible thermoplastics are being considered that can be additively manufactured on-site at the hospital. This study aims to evaluate fused filament fabrication (FFF) for its effectiveness in developing dimensionally accurate patient-specific triflange cup implants. Two triflange cup designs were developed and tested. These designs were individually generated to be custom-fitted to a male and female CT scan sourced and segmented from the New Mexico Decedent Imaging Database (NMDID). After approval by an orthopaedic surgeon, multiple male and female samples were fabricated in polylactic acid (PLA) using FFF. Samples were then scanned three-dimensionally and computationally verified by comparison with the original implant designs. All nine implant samples were verified to be greater than 95% within acceptable tolerances. Verification was confirmed with statistical testing that yielded p-values significantly less than 0.01 indicating that the population mean of percent within tolerance, or dimensional accuracy, is statistically significantly greater than 95%. By evaluating FFF as a triflange cup manufacturing method, this study makes strides in developing a workflow for orthopaedic surgeons to fabricate patient-specific implants on-site, reducing lead time and the likelihood of revisional procedures.

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