Design of Additively Manufactured Structures for Biomedical Applications: A Review of the Additive Manufacturing Processes Applied to the Biomedical Sector

J Healthc Eng. 2019 Mar 12:2019:9748212. doi: 10.1155/2019/9748212. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a disruptive technology as it pushes the frontier of manufacturing towards a new design perspective, such as the ability to shape geometries that cannot be formed with any other traditional technique. AM has today shown successful applications in several fields such as the biomedical sector in which it provides a relatively fast and effective way to solve even complex medical cases. From this point of view, the purpose of this paper is to illustrate AM technologies currently used in the medical field and their benefits along with contemporary. The review highlights differences in processes, materials, and design of additive manufacturing techniques used in biomedical applications. Successful case studies are presented to emphasise the potentiality of AM processes. The presented review supports improvements in materials and design for future researches in biomedical surgeries using instruments and implants made by AM.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biocompatible Materials / chemistry*
  • Computer-Aided Design / instrumentation
  • Electrons
  • Humans
  • Lasers
  • Manufactured Materials
  • Materials Testing
  • Polyesters / chemistry
  • Printing, Three-Dimensional
  • Prostheses and Implants*
  • Prosthesis Design*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Stereolithography

Substances

  • Biocompatible Materials
  • Polyesters
  • poly(lactide)