CT-Generated Porous Hydroxyapatite Orbital Floor Prosthesis as a Prototype Bioimplant

Abstract

Summary: Hydroxyapatite bioceramic was used for the manufacture of an orbital floor prosthesis from spiral CT data acquired transaxially at 1-mm beam collimation, pitch of 1, and 0.2-mm reconstruction intervals. CT data were converted to vector file format for subsequent prosthesis manufacture on a stereolithography machine. The orbital floor prosthesis was engrafted onto an acrylic model of the orbit as a qualitative indication of its overall accuracy. High anatomic accuracy was achieved, as determined by visual inspection. Cross-hatching of the vector file data allowed a porous internal architecture of the prosthesis. Refinements in chemical structure of the hydroxyapatite bioceramic are expected to enhance mechanical properties.

Diffusion in Musculoskeletal Tissue Engineering Scaffolds: Design Issues Related to Porosity, Permeability, Architecture, and Nutrient Mixing

“…The laser beam interacts with the powder to increase the local temperature to the glass transition temperature of the powder, causing the particles to fuse to each other as well as the layer underneath. 119 STL 21,26,40,50,57,71,78,100 uses an ultraviolet (UV) laser beam to selectively polymerize a liquid photocurable monomer, a layer at a time. 88 The CAD data guides the UV beam onto the liquid surface, which is then lowered to enable the liquid photopolymer to cover the surface.…”

Design and fabrication of standardized hydroxyapatite scaffolds with a defined macro‐architecture by rapid prototyping for bone‐tissue‐engineering research

“…Recently, HA implants with designed porous structures have been produced using fugitive molds made by stereolithography, 37,38 a RP technique that builds models by scanning a photocurable epoxy resin with a laser. These molds were filled with a "reactive ceramic suspension" and, once cured, the mold and organic components of the suspension were pyrolysed and the ceramic sintered.…”

Photocrosslinkable Materials for the Fabrication of Tissue-Engineered Constructs by Stereolithography

“…To produce polymer-ceramic scaffolds through stereolithography, ceramic particles (hydroxyapatite (HA) and tricalcium phosphate (TCP)) are homogenously dispersed on the polymeric material and subsequently photopolymerized [20,30,55,60]. These scaffolds are usually stiffer and stronger than the polymeric ones, as a result of the incorporation of powder particles.…”

“…Levy et al [60] used a ceramic suspension consisting of HA powder and photocurable resin to produce ceramic scaffolds for orbital floor prosthesis. After polymerization, the resin was removed by heating and the resulting ceramic scaffold consolidated by sintering.…”