Fabrication of Biomedical Implants using Laser
Engineered Net Shaping (LENSTM) |
Mitun Dasa, b, Vamsi Krishna Ballaa, T. S. Sampath Kumarb,* and Indranil Mannaa, c
pages 169-174
DOI:10.1080/0371750X.2013.851619 |
Abstract |
bone replacement materials for load-bearing applications is still lacking. Commercially available load-bearing
implants/materials differ significantly from the natural host tissues in several aspects such as macro/microstructures,
mechanical, physical and chemical properties. These differences limit the effectiveness of implants’ biological
repair capability and longevity. One approach to enhance the cellular response and tissue integration of metal
implants is to design and fabricate novel porous biomaterials that closely resemble the architecture and properties
of natural bone tissue.
In this article, we review application of Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS™) – an additive manufacturing process
developed at Sandia National Laboratories, in developing materials/structures for load bearing implant application
to enhance their in vivo life time. It has been established that LENS™ process is capable of fabricating near net
shaped metallic implants with tailored porosity that can eliminate stress shielding issue associated with fully
dense implants. Similarly, LENS™ is a potential technique to create compositionally and/or structurally graded implants.
Further, functionally graded hard coatings have been developed via LENS™ to minimize the wear induced osteolysis.
Finally, mono-block or unitized structures such as functionally graded CoCrMo or TiB-TiN coating on porous Ti6Al4V
can also be fabricated using LENS™. In summary, the combination of novel designs and freeform fabrication
capability of LENS process might have significant effect on development of novel implants/structures using varieties
of metallic/ceramic biomaterials with tailored mechanical and biological properties.
[Keywords: Rapid prototyping, Laser processing, Biomaterials, Coating, LENS] |
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