Fabrication and Analysis of a Ti6Al4V Implant for Cranial Restoration

Abstract

A custom made implant is critical in cranioplasty to cushion and restore intracranial anatomy, as well as to recover the appearance and attain cognitive stability in the patient. The utilization of customized titanium alloy implants using three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction technique and fabricated using Electron Beam Melting (EBM) has gained significant recognition in recent years, owing to their convenience and effectiveness. Besides, the conventional technique or the extant practice of transforming the standard plates is unreliable, arduous and tedious. As a result, this work aims to produce a customized cranial implant using 3D reconstruction that is reliable in terms of fitting accuracy, appearance, mechanical strength, and consistent material composition. A well-defined methodology initiating from EBM fabrication to final validation has been outlined in this work. The custom design of the implant was carried out by mirror reconstruction of the skull's defective region, acquired through computer tomography. The design of the customized implant was then analyzed for mechanical stresses by applying finite element analysis. Consequently, the 3D model of the implant was fabricated from Ti6Al4V ELI powder with a thickness of 1.76-2 mm. Different tests were employed to evaluate the bio-mechanical stability and strength of the fabricated customized implant design. A 3D comparison study was performed to ensure there was anatomical accuracy, as well as to maintain gratifying aesthetics. The bio-mechanical analysis results revealed that the maximum Von Mises stress (2.5 MPa), strain distribution (1.49 × 10 −4 ) and deformation (3.26 × 10 −6 mm) were significantly low in magnitude, thus proving the implant load resistance ability. The average yield and tensile strengths for the fabricated Ti6Al4V ELI EBM specimen were found to be 825 MPa and 880 MPa, respectively, which were well over the prescribed strength for Ti6Al4V ELI implant material. The hardness study also resulted in an acceptable outcome within the acceptable range of 30-35 HRC. Certainly, the chemical composition of the fabricated EBM specimen was intact as established in EDX analysis. The weight of the cranial implant (128 grams) was also in agreement with substituted defected bone portion, ruling out any stress shielding effect. With the proposed approach, the anatomy of the cranium deformities can be retrieved effectively and efficiently. The implementation of 3D reconstruction techniques can conveniently reduce tedious alterations in the implant design and subsequent errors. It can be a valuable and reliable approach to enhance implant fitting, stability, and strength. stability in the patient [2]. Cranial restoration is generally carried out on patients who suffer from head trauma as a result of any injury (accident), infection or congenital deformities [3]. The skull injuries or malformation are considered as one of the most critical and worrying health concerns, which affects a large population all over the world [4]. Moreover, the repairing of cra...

Design and Additive Manufacturing of a Biomimetic Customized Cranial Implant Based on Voronoi Diagram

“…Since then, cranial reconstructions have witnessed tremendous progress in using computer-aided design (CAD) methods (Cabraja et al, 2009;Wiggins et al, 2013;Bonda et al, 2015). Additive manufacturing (AM) or three-dimensional (3D) printing of titanium patient-specific implants (PSIs) made its way into cranioplasty, improving the clinical outcomes in complex surgical procedures (Cho et al, 2015;Park et al, 2016;Moiduddin et al, 2019;Sharma et al, 2020). Furthermore, there has been a significant interest within the medical community in redesigning implants based on natural analogies (Tejero et al, 2014;Brett et al, 2017).…”

Comprehensive Evaluation of the Biological Properties of Surface-Modified Titanium Alloy Implants

“…Titanium and titanium alloy powders are materials widely used in the aforementioned above-mentioned additive technologies due to the fact that implants fabricated using these powders show desirable mechanical properties, allowing them to transfer large loads. Therefore, these materials offer great potential for applications in orthopedics, dentistry, and spine surgery [6][7][8]. The advantage of the additive technology is its ability to fabricate porous systems, which can increase the ingrowth of bone and the anchorage of the implants [8,9].…”

“…Therefore, these materials offer great potential for applications in orthopedics, dentistry, and spine surgery [6][7][8]. The advantage of the additive technology is its ability to fabricate porous systems, which can increase the ingrowth of bone and the anchorage of the implants [8,9]. However, low osteoconduction and integration of titanium-based implants with the bone for long-term survival, their weak anti-inflammatory properties, and the possibility of toxic components releasing into the human body requires surface modification and the formation of a layer, which significantly eliminates these above-mentioned adverse factors.…”

Revealing the influence of electron beam melted Ti-6Al-4V scaffolds on osteogenesis of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells

“…Ti64 samples manufactured by SLM are characterized to have higher yield- and ultimate tensile strength, but lower ductility compared to samples manufactured with EBM [ 7 ]. Due to the FDA-approval of EBM, the EBM process also sets the current benchmark in this field [ 8 , 9 ].…”