The Use of Three-Dimensional Printing in Chest Wall Reconstruction Implants
Open Access
- Author:
- Almenhali, Ahmed
- Area of Honors:
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- James Hansell Adair, Thesis Supervisor
Robert Allen Kimel, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- 3D Printed
- Abstract:
- Chest wall reconstruction has always been a complicated procedure in the medical world for many years. Creating perfect fitting implants was not always a feasible task, that was until 3D printing came around. It is now possible to use a Computed tomography (CT) scan data to create a replica model of a patient’s chest wall, printing a personalized implant for every patient and assuring physiological and cosmetic compliance. Many materials can be used to create these custom 3D implants, such as titanium and bone cement. This research paper tests the mechanical properties of SLS (selective laser sintering) printed Nylon PA2200, a promising material for custom made chest wall implants. The three types of tests conducted were uniaxial tensile, flexural bending, and dynamic mechanical analysis with varying temperatures. For both the uniaxial tensile and flexural bending tests, the Instron 5982 universal testing machine (UTM) was used. For the dynamic mechanical analysis, the TA discovery DMA 850 was used. Nylon PA2200 performed very well in the mechanical tests. The mechanical properties of Nylon were close to that of human bones and thus deemed sufficient to act as a rib or sternum implant. However, the DMA discovered a significant limitation; Nylon’s glass transition temperature is between 25-40 degrees Celsius. The future of Nylon PA2200 depends on its glass transition temperature. A polymer blend between PA2200 nylon and another high Tg polymer would be promising. The advancement of 3D printing also contributed to the study of cell biology by contributing to the creation of bioreactors for metastatic cancer.