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ABSTRACT

The bone tissue engineering is a multi - disciplinary field which requires

the combined knowledge of Bio-Medical Engineering & Mechanical

Engineering. The design of scaffolds with an intricate and controlled

internal structure represents a challenge for tissue engineering. Current

designs lag in producing a scaffold that is able to remain viable

throughout the duration from implantation to the end of the healing phase

under load-bearing conditions, thereby missing the goal of an optimized

and reordered bone architecture that is as functional and stable as the

native bone. Several scaffold-manufacturing techniques allow the creation

of complex architectures but with little or no control over the main

features of the channel network such as the size, shape, and inter-

connectivity of each individual channel, resulting in intricate but random

structures. The current scaffold manufacturing methods namely

Particulate-Leaching, Emulsion Freeze Drying, Selective Laser Sintering

(SLS), Photopolymerization, FDM, etc. maintain neither the pore size,

nor the load bearing capacity. Hence the 3D Printing Technology (Powder

Based) would be ideal to fabricate these intricate micro structures in a

bone tissue scaffold. This allows a high degree of control over these

parameters with few limitations in terms of achievable complexity. This

process is better known as BONE MODELING. Bone modeling begins at

this point as a result of mechano-sensing of the bone and degradation of

the implant. The degradation of 3D bio-scaffold in bone regeneration

areas can be greatly controlled by 3D printing technology. This project

would evaluate various porous design structures for optimum 3D scaffold

structure suitable for effective load bearing application. In this project, A

three-dimensional (3D), highly porous, mechanically competent,

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biodegradable scaffold is fabricated for a damaged trabecular bone

structure by using data from DICOM image and convert it in to 3D model

for identify the problematic area, & then use it in computer-aided

design(CAD) systems to design the scaffold for given set of parameters.

This is further analyzed using finite element Software for its load bearing

capabilities and finally 3D model is exported to the STL format for the

layer-manufacturing of 3D bio-scaffold, viz 3D Printing technology.