Bone cell response to additively manufactured 3D micro-architectures with controlled Poisson's ratio: Auxetic vs. non-auxetic meta-biomaterials

The Poisson's ratio and elastic modulus are two parameters determining the elastic behavior of biomaterials. While the effects of elastic modulus on the cell response is widely studied, very little is known regarding the effects of the Poisson's ratio. The micro-architecture of meta-biomaterials determines not only the Poisson's ratio but...

Auxeticity as a Mechanobiological Tool to Create Meta-Biomaterials

Mechanical and morphological design parameters, such as stiffness or porosity, play important roles in creating orthopedic implants and bone substitutes. However, we have only a limited understanding of how the microarchitecture of porous scaffolds contributes to bone regeneration. Meta-biomaterials are increasingly used to precisely engineer...

Development of crumpled-based meta-biomaterials as bone filling substituents

Bone defects are a common problem in healthcare today. When the damage is too extensive, the human body is not able to heal itself. Different solutions are available, but they all have limitations. Therefore, the search for a solution to overcome these limitations is important. In this theses a way to create a scaffold out of seperate crumpled...

Poisson meets Escher: Exploring the Poisson effect in bone implant design

Since the beginning of time, humans have been trying to replace the skeletal system in cases of trauma or disease. Medical devices were designed, manufactured, and implanted, to restore the function of the skeletal system. Fast forward to today and joint replacements are among the most common surgeries carried out in the world. Despite their...

Mechanisms of fatigue crack initiation and propagation in auxetic meta-biomaterials

The fatigue performance of additively manufactured auxetic meta-biomaterials made from commercially pure titanium has been studied only recently. While certain assumptions have been made regarding the mechanisms underlying their fatigue failure, the exact mechanisms are not researched yet. Here, we studied the mechanisms of crack formation...

Merging strut-based and minimal surface meta-biomaterials: Decoupling surface area from mechanical properties

The rational design of bone-substituting biomaterials is relatively complex because they should meet a long list of requirements for optimal performance. Meta-biomaterials are micro-architected materials that hold great promise for meeting those requirements as they offer a unique combination of mechanical, mass-transport, and biological...

Fatigue performance of auxetic meta-biomaterials

Meta-biomaterials offer a promising route towards the development of life-lasting implants. The concept aims to achieve solutions that are ordinarily impossible, by offering a unique combination of mechanical, mass transport, and biological properties through the optimization of their small-scale geometrical and topological designs. In this...

Additively manufactured space-filling meta-implants

The unprecedented properties of meta-biomaterials could pave the way for the development of life-lasting orthopedic implants. Here, we used non-auxetic meta-biomaterials to address the shortcomings of the current treatment options in acetabular revision surgery. Due to the severe bone deficiencies and poor bone quality, it can be very...

Mechanical performance of auxetic meta-biomaterials

The innovative design of orthopedic implants could play an important role in the development of life-lasting implants, by improving both primary and secondary implant fixations. The concept of meta-biomaterials aims to achieve a unique combination of mechanical, mass transport, and biological properties through optimized topological design of...

Deformable Acetabular Implants: an explorative study

An acetabular revision is a very challenging intervention, due to moderate to severe bone deficiencies and poor bone quality. Current solutions for this intervention are associated with inconsistent and unreliable clinical outcomes. This leads to substantial complications, including implant migration and loosening. These complications are, among...

Mechanics of Bone-substituting Meta-biomaterials

One of the main functions of bone is to support the human body mechanically. To fulfil its complex role, bone possesses unique mechanical properties: it is stiff enough to resist deformation while being able to absorb energy.<br/>In this thesis, a comprehensive study has been carried out using analytical methods, numerical methods and...

Design for additive bio-manufacturing: From patient-specific medical devices to rationally designed meta-biomaterials

Recent advances in additive manufacturing (AM) techniques in terms of accuracy, reliability, the range of processable materials, and commercial availability have made them promising candidates for production of functional parts including those used in the biomedical industry. The complexity-for-free feature offered by AM means that very...