Design of patient specific porous titanium implants for craniofacial applications

Cranioplasty surgical procedures that are performed to correct defects of the skull require reconstruction of both form and function. Custom implants have gained importance due to their better performance over their generic counterparts due to their precise adaptation to the region of implantation and reduction of surgical time and better cosmesis. Recent introduction of Electron Beam Melting has opened a new horizon for the possibility of direct fabrication of patient specific titanium prosthesis from CT scan data. This presentation will discuss the design strategy for the fabrication of craniofacial implants using EBM technology taking into account mechanical, biological and manufacturing constraints. Finite element analysis has been used to predict the effective mechanical properties of the porous structures.