Manufacturing of resorbable implants by means of LPBF

• Resorbable implants, unlike permanent implants, offer the advantage that they dissolve in the body, thus avoiding long-term complications and revision surgery
• Promising materials are bioresorbable metals (e.g. magnesium or zinc) and bioresorbable polymers (e.g. polylactide and polycaprolactone)
• At Fraunhofer ILT, the additive manufacturing process Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) is being qualified to produce bioresorbable implants
• LPBF manufacturing enables the production of complex scaffolds with interconnected pore structures that facilitate tissue ingrowth.
• In addition, patient-specific implants with a perfect fit can be generated on the basis of medical image data (CT, MRT).

Publications:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2019.05.056

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2019.03.101

Contact:

Fraunhofer ILT, Prof. Sebastian Bremen, sebastian.bremen@ilt.fraunhofer.de, 0241/8906-537