Fabrication of composite artificial hemi-knee joint

A custom fabrication process for a novel hemi-knee joint substitute composed of titanium alloy and porous ceramics is proposed, combining reverse engineering (RE), rapid prototyping (RP) and rapid tooling (RT) techniques. The computer model of the hemi-knee joint is custom designed based on medical imaging, and the resin prototype is shaped by rapid prototyping (RP) technique. The titanium-alloy knee joint and the porous bioceramic artificial bone are fabricated via quick casting and powder sintering respectively. The reconstruction error within 0. 21mm can meet the requirement for substitutes. The composite artificial hemi-knee joint matches well with the surrounding tissues in vivo, and has enough mechanical strength and bioactivity as well. This composite prosthesis can be used to repair large segment of bone defects to restore the function of knee joint, combining mechanical reconstruction with biological regeneration.