From Ct Scan To Ceramic Bone Graft

An indirect fused deposition process was used to fabricate controlled-porosity alumina bone grafts using a computer-aided design file created from computed tomography (CT) scans of a horse's short pastern bone. Structures with both uniform and gradient porosity were fabricated to show the effectiveness of this process for the fabrication of custom orthopaedic implants. Cytotoxisity and cell proliferation studies were conducted with different cell lines to show that these bone grafts are biocompatible. Uniaxial compression tests were also conducted to understand the influence of porosity on the mechanical properties of these structures.