Design and fabrication of a novel porous implant with pre-set channels based on ceramic stereolithography for vascular implantation

Being a multi-etiological factors disease, osteonecrosis of the femoral head affects many young people, leading to the collapse of the femur head; eventually the hip arthroplasty is needed if not treated in time. Unfortunately, as yet, no satisfactory therapy to repair necrotic bone at an early stage is present. Novel implants with pre-set channels were designed for the treatment of early femoral head necrosis. Ceramic stereolithography was applied to fabricate the green part from beta-TCP powder. Other processes, such as dehydration, rinsing, drying and sintering, were processed successively. The final ceramic part remains the same as the engineered part in both shape and internal structure. No significant deformation or crack occurred. X-ray diffraction showed that no facies changed or chemical reaction occurred during the fabrication process. The chemical composition remains the same as that of the original beta-TCP powder. The compressive strength is 23.54 MPa, close to that of natural cancellous bone. Novel implants with a pre-set channel were designed and fabricated for blood vessel implantation. Bioceramic stereolithography technology based directly on the CAD model in this research shows advantages in accurate design, optimization of 3D scaffold and critical control of the fabrication process. This proposed implant shows promising clinical application in the restoration of early femoral head necrosis.