Research progress on preparation of biological implant materials by additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing technology breaks through the limitations of traditional mold processing technology, and it is an important method for the efficiently customizing biomedical materials. Recently, the personalization needs of medical bone repair and transplantation have increased significantly. The customized and individualized advantages gradually promote the additive manufacturing technology to play an important role in the field of biomedical materials. With the development of materials science and computer aided technology (CAD/CAM), the biological implant materials used for additive manufacturing are no longer limited to the alloys such as titanium alloys, tantalum alloys, and vitallium. Because of good biocompatibility, the non-metal materials such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and calcium phosphate are widely used in biomaterials. The preparation of artificial bone implants by additive manufacturing technology has become a new research hotspot. The principle of additive manufacturing technology was reviewed, and the manufacturing techniques by laser, electron beam, and photocuring were compared in this paper. The application status of additive manufacturing in biological implants and medical devices was introduced, and the development prospects of additive manufacturing technology in medical field were prospected.