Design and fabrication of graduated porous Ti-based alloy implants for biomedical applications

In this study, a porous implant model with controllable pores was created, where the pores were distributed with a gradient change from the surface of each pore inwards. The aim was to develop an implant with an elastic modulus of gradient change. The models were subjected to 3D finite element analysis in order to achieve the optimal design parameters. A direct metal laser sintering process was used to print the implant models. Investigations on the physical and mechanical properties revealed that the fabricated implants had a porosity of 65.8–88.2% and an elastic modulus of 12–18 GPa. The property of the sample was close to that of cortical bone. Therefore, the stress shielding effect of the implant and human bone could be reduced. An in vitro cell culture experiment conducted on the samples after surface modification demonstrated that the printed porous parts had good biocompatibility.