Feasibility of fabricating personalized 3D-printed bone grafts guided by high-resolution imaging

Abigail L. Hong, Benjamin T. Newman, Arbab Khalid, Olivia M. Teter, Elizabeth A. Kobe, Malika Shukurova, Rohit Shinde, Daniel Sipzner, Robert J. Pignolo, Jayaram K. Udupa, Chamith S. Rajapakse

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Current methods of bone graft treatment for critical size bone defects can give way to several clinical complications such as limited available bone for autografts, non-matching bone structure, lack of strength which can compromise a patient's skeletal system, and sterilization processes that can prevent osteogenesis in the case of allografts. We intend to overcome these disadvantages by generating a patient-specific 3D printed bone graft guided by high-resolution medical imaging. Our synthetic model allows us to customize the graft for the patients' macro- and microstructure and correct any structural deficiencies in the re-meshing process. These 3D-printed models can presumptively serve as the scaffolding for human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) engraftment in order to facilitate bone growth. We performed highresolution CT imaging of a cadaveric human proximal femur at 0.030-mm isotropic voxels. We used these images to generate a 3D computer model that mimics bone geometry from micro to macro scale represented by STereoLithography (STL) format. These models were then reformatted to a format that can be interpreted by the 3D printer. To assess how much of the microstructure was replicated, 3D-printed models were re-imaged using micro-CT at 0.025-mm isotropic voxels and compared to original high-resolution CT images used to generate the 3D model in 32 sub-regions. We found a strong correlation between 3D-printed bone volume and volume of bone in the original images used for 3D printing (R2 = 0.97). We expect to further refine our approach with additional testing to create a viable synthetic bone graft with clinical functionality.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationMedical Imaging 2017
Subtitle of host publicationImaging Informatics for Healthcare, Research, and Applications
EditorsTessa S. Cook, Jianguo Zhang
PublisherSPIE
ISBN (Electronic)9781510607217
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017
EventMedical Imaging 2017: Imaging Informatics for Healthcare, Research, and Applications - Orlando, United States
Duration: Feb 15 2017Feb 16 2017

Publication series

NameProgress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging - Proceedings of SPIE
Volume10138
ISSN (Print)1605-7422

Other

OtherMedical Imaging 2017: Imaging Informatics for Healthcare, Research, and Applications
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityOrlando
Period2/15/172/16/17

Keywords

  • 3D printing
  • Bone grafts
  • Critical size bone defects
  • High-resolution imaging
  • Human mesenchymal stem cells
  • Polycaprolactone
  • Proximal femur
  • STereoLithography

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
  • Biomaterials

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