CONTROLLED RANDOMIZED POROUS STRUCTURES AND METHODS FOR MAKING SAME
Improved randomized porous structures and methods of manufacturing such porous structures are disclosed. The scaffold of the porous structures are formed from by dividing the space between a plurality of spatial coordinates of a defined volume, where the plurality of spatial coordinates have been moved in a random direction and a random finite distance according to a predetermined randomization limit.
This application is a continuation application of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/728,668, filed Dec. 27, 2019, entitled “Controlled Randomized Porous Structures and Methods for Making Same”, which is a continuation application of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/153,207, filed Oct. 5, 2018, entitled “Controlled Randomized Porous Structures and Methods for Making Same”, which is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/509,585, filed Aug. 7, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,166,316, entitled “Controlled Randomized Porous Structures and Methods for Making Same”, which application is the national phase application under 35 U.S.C. 371 of International Application No. PCT/US2010/56602, filed Nov. 12, 2010, entitled “Controlled Randomized Porous Structures and Methods for Making Same”, which claims priority to, and the benefit, of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/260,811, filed Nov. 12, 2009 and entitled “Controlled Randomization of Porous Structures for Medical Implants,” the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSUREThe present invention generally relates to porous structures suitable for medical implants, and more particularly to porous structures suitable for medical implants that have improved combinations of strength, porosity and connectivity and methods for fabricating such improved porous structures.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURECertain medical implants and orthopedic implants require strength for weight bearing purposes and porosity to encourage bone/tissue in-growth. For example, many orthopedic implants include porous sections that provide a scaffold structure to encourage bone in-growth during healing and a weight bearing section intended to render the patient ambulatory more quickly. For example, metal foam structures are porous, three-dimensional structures that have been used in medical implants, particularly orthopedic implants, because they have the requisite strength for weight bearing purposes as well as the requisite porosity.
Metal foam structures and other porous structures can be fabricated by a variety of methods. For example, one such method is mixing a powdered metal with a pore-forming agent (PFA) and then pressing the mixture into the desired shape. The PFA is removed using heat in a “burn out” process. The remaining metal skeleton may then be sintered to form a porous metal foam structure.
Another similar conventional method includes applying a binder to polyurethane foam, applying metal powder to the binder, burning out the polyurethane foam and sintering the metal powder together to form a “green” part. Binder and metal powder are re-applied to the green part and the green part is re-sintered until the green part has the desired strut thickness and porosity. The green part is then machined to the final shape and re-sintered.
While metal foams formed by such conventional methods provide good porosity, they may not provide the desired strength to serve as weight bearing structures in many medical implants. Further, the processes used to form metal foams may lead to the formation of undesirable metal compounds in the metal foams by the reaction between the metal and the PFA. Conventional metal foam fabrication processes also consume substantial amounts of energy and may produce noxious fumes.
Rapid manufacturing technologies (RMT) such as direct metal fabrication (DMF) and solid free-form fabrication (SFF) have recently been used to produce metal foam used in medical implants or portions of medical implants. In general, RMT methods allow for structures to be built from 3-D CAD models. For example, DMF techniques produce three-dimensional structures one layer at a time from a powder which is solidified by irradiating a layer of the powder with an energy source such as a laser or an electron beam. The powder is fused, melted or sintered, by the application of the energy source, which is directed in raster-scan fashion to selected portions of the powder layer. After fusing a pattern in one power layer, an additional layer of powder is dispensed, and the process is repeated with fusion taking place between the layers, until the desired structure is complete.
Examples of metal powders reportedly used in such direct fabrication techniques include two-phase metal powders of the copper-tin, copper-solder and bronze-nickel systems. The metal structures formed by DMF may be relatively dense, for example, having densities of 70% to 80% of a corresponding molded metal structure, or conversely, may be relatively porous, with porosities approaching 80% or more.
While DMF can be used to provide dense structures strong enough to serve as weight bearing structures in medical implants, the porous structures conventionally used employ arrangements with uniform, non-random, and regular features that create weak areas where the struts of the three-dimensional porous structure intersect. That is, the conventional structure configurations lack directional strength and compensate for the weakness by making struts thicker, thereby decreasing the porosity, and conversely, a conventional structure with the desired porosity often lacks the desired strength because of the thinner struts. That is, the desired strength can be achieved in the prior art at the expense of porosity, or vice versa. There are no methods and/or products currently available that provide both the improved strength, improved porosity, and improved connectivity.
Further, trabecular bone structures are non-uniform and random in appearance on a micro-scale. It is also known that effective medical implants must be physiologically compatible with their surroundings in addition to providing the requisite strength, porosity and connectivity. Yet the conventional porous structures with uniform, non-random, and regular features that do not resemble trabecular bone structures. For example, U.S. Publication Nos. 2006/0147332 and 2010/0010638 show examples of these prior art configurations employed to form porous structures that exhibit the disadvantages discussed above, e.g., weak areas at the strut intersections, improved strength at the expense of porosity, and no trabecular features.
One way to enhance the effectiveness of an orthopedic implant may be to randomize the porous structure of an implant so it better simulates trabecular structures in which it is implanted. Therefore, in addition to strength, porosity and connectivity properties, it is believed that the performance of an implant with a porous structure could be improved if the porous structure could be randomized porous thereby providing a randomized scaffold structure as opposed to a uniform open cell structure. Methods known in the art to create randomized structures typically involve randomizing an existing uniform structure. These methods, however, are limited because they typically require manual manipulation of the struts, i.e., solid space, of one unit to match up with another unit to build a scaffold of desired dimensions. If the struts of the units do not match up, the integrity of the structure may be compromised if it has too many loose struts. Similarly, a randomized structure with poorly oriented struts may have poor distribution of residual stresses due to the manufacturing method resulting in warped or inaccurate parts. Accordingly, the structure of the initial units of the prior art, either identical or not, is usually simple to keep the stacking or building process manageable. Otherwise, building a scaffold from complex randomized initial units would be too time consuming and costly, particularly in computation expenses. Further, an additional drawback to randomizing an existing uniform structure is potentially making the structure weaker due to the unanticipated changes in the properties of the structure resulting from changes in the modulus and direction during the randomization process. Consequently, an original randomized structure, as opposed to a randomized existing structure, provides for improved strength along with improved porosity and enhanced complexity—e.g., trabecular features. As mentioned above, in the prior art, software applications typically produce porous structures that are predominantly uniform and regular. For efficiency, they repeat a small unit tile in the coordinate directions to fill a volume without gaps between the tiles. However, relatively few and simple shapes are employed within the unit tile due to the complexity of matching these tiles together.
Further, as a result of the deficiencies of metal foam implants and implants fabricated using conventional DMF methods, some medical implants require multiple structures, each designed for one or more different purposes. For example, because some medical implants require both a porous structure to promote bone and tissue in-growth and a weight bearing structure, a porous plug may be placed in a recess of a solid structure and the two structures may then be joined by sintering. Obviously, using a single structure would be preferable to using two distinct structures and sintering them together.
In light of the above, there is still a need for efficient methods to manufacture three dimensional porous structures, and the structures themselves, with randomized scaffold structures that provide for improved porosity without sacrificing the strength, improved strength including seamless junctions between units, and improved connectivity and having trabecular features.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSUREOne objective of the invention is to provide porous biocompatible structures suitable for use as medical implants that have improved strength for weight bearing purposes and porosity for tissue in-growth structures.
Another objective of the invention is to provide porous biocompatible structures suitable for use as medical implants that have improved connectivity to resemble trabecular bone features.
Another objective of the invention is to provide porous biocompatible structures that promote bone tissue and soft tissue in-growth.
Another objective of the invention is to provide porous biocompatible structures suitable for use as medical implants having a controlled, yet random arrangement of struts and nodes for improved performance characteristics.
Yet another objective of the invention is to provide methods for fabricating such improved porous biocompatible structures.
Another objective of the invention is to provide efficient methods for fabricating randomized porous structures by manipulating the space between the struts.
Yet another objective of the invention is to provide methods for providing a seamless fit between structures that are joined together, regardless of whether the structures are identical or not.
Another objective of the invention is to provide methods to fabricate a randomized porous structure that can be customized to specific needs, e.g., a particular patient or application, having the appropriate distribution, pore size, porosity, and strength.
Another objective of the invention is to provide methods for controlling the randomization of a scaffold for a structure.
To meet the above objectives, there is provided, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, a method for fabricating a porous structure comprising the steps of: creating a model of a porous structure, the creating step includes defining a three dimensional space having an outer boundary and an inner volume, placing a plurality of outer spatial coordinates along the boundary, placing a plurality of inner spatial coordinates in the inner volume, moving one or more inner spatial coordinates a finite distance in a random direction, moving one or more outer spatial coordinates a finite distance in a random direction. The step of creating a model of a porous structure further includes dividing the volume of the three dimensional space evenly among the randomized outer and inner spatial coordinates, defining the boundary of one or more divided volume with one or more struts and one or more nodes, where each strut has a first end, a second end, and a continuous elongated body between the first and second ends for each strut, and each node is an intersection of at least two struts, and selecting a thickness and a shape for one or more struts. The method further includes the step of fabricating the porous structure according to the model by exposing fusible material to an energy source.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the method also includes a step of providing a second three dimensional space that is a duplicate of the first three dimensional space where the inner and outer coordinates have already been randomized.
In one embodiment, the moving of the inner spatial coordinates a finite distance in a random direction is performed within a preselected or predetermined randomization limit that avoids any overlap of the inner spatial coordinates. In another embodiment, the moving of the outer spatial coordinates a finite distance in a random direction is performed within a predetermined randomization limit so that the randomized outer spatial coordinates of one three dimensional space match or correspond to their respective outer spatial coordinates on a second substantially identical three dimensional space. Alternatively, the second three dimensional space is not substantially identical to the first three dimensional space.
In one embodiment, a Voronoi tessellation is applied to the randomized spatial coordinates and struts to remove redundant struts. In another embodiment, the method includes the step of fabricating the porous structure that comprises two or more substantially identical three dimensional spaces having randomized spatial coordinates and corresponding struts. In some embodiments where the overlap of inner and outer spatial coordinates after randomization or perturbation is not problematic, randomization limits may be avoided altogether or used sparingly.
In some embodiments, only selected inner and/or outer spatial coordinates are perturbed or randomized. In other embodiments all or substantially all inner and/or outer spatial coordinates are randomized or perturbed.
The perturbations or randomizations may be carried out for each inner and each outer spatial coordinate, or for some of the outer spatial coordinates and some of the inner spatial coordinates, or for some of the outer spatial coordinates and none of the inner spatial coordinates, or a little as one region of the outer spatial coordinates. A complete randomization of all spatial coordinates is not required.
In some embodiments, the predetermined randomization is configured to avoid at least one inner spatial coordinate from overlapping with at least one other inner spatial coordinate. In other embodiments, the method further includes selecting a predetermined randomization limit for at least one inner spatial coordinate, the selecting comprising the steps of: defining a volume around the at least one inner spatial coordinate, the volume is based at least on the proximity of one other surrounding inner spatial coordinate; and limiting the randomized movement of the at least one inner spatial coordinate to be within the defined volume.
Yet in other embodiments, the defined volume comprises a geometric shape selected from the group consisting of spheres, Archimedean shapes, Platonic shapes, polyhedrons, prisms, anti-prisms and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, at least one dimension of said defined volume has a radius of less than 50% the distance between said at least one inner spatial coordinate and other surrounding inner spatial coordinate.
In other embodiments, the matching is accomplished by moving at least two corresponding outer spatial coordinates the same finite distance and the same direction. In some embodiments, the three dimensional space comprises a geometric shape selected from a group consisting of space filling polyhedra, space-filling convex polyhedra with regular faces, and space-filling convex polyhedra with irregular faces.
Yet in other embodiments, the shape selected for the struts comprises a polygon. In some refinements, the shape selected for one strut differs from the shape of another strut, where the selected shape is configured to promote tissue ingrowth.
In some embodiments, the fabricating step further comprises selecting a material for fabricating the one or more struts from the group consisting of metal, ceramic, metal-ceramic (cermet), glass, glass-ceramic, polymer, composite and combinations thereof. In other embodiments, the method further comprises selecting a metallic material from the group consisting of titanium, titanium alloy, zirconium, zirconium alloy, niobium, niobium alloy, tantalum, tantalum alloy, nickel-chromium (e.g., stainless steel), cobalt-chromium alloy and combinations thereof.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a porous structure comprising a plurality of struts, each strut comprises: a first end; a second end; and a continuous elongated body between said first and second ends, said body having a thickness and a length; and a plurality of nodes, each node comprises an intersection of at least two struts, where the plurality of struts and nodes formed from a model created by dividing the space between a plurality of spatial coordinates of a defined volume, said plurality of spatial coordinates having been moved in a random direction and a random finite distance according to a predetermined randomization limit.
In some embodiments, the predetermined randomization is configured to avoid at least one inner spatial coordinate from overlapping with at least one other inner spatial coordinate. In other embodiments, the dimension of said defined space surrounding said one or more spatial coordinates is based at least on the proximity of one other surrounding spatial coordinate. In some refinements, the other spatial coordinate is a nearest neighbor to the one or more spatial coordinates.
Yet in other embodiments, the defined space comprises a geometric shape selected from the group consisting of spheres, Archimedean shapes, Platonic shapes, polyhedrons, prisms, anti-prisms and combinations thereof. In other refinements, at least one dimension of said defined volume has a radius of less than 50% the distance between said one or more spatial coordinates and said one other surrounding spatial coordinate.
In some refinements, the three dimensional space comprises a geometric shape selected from a group consisting of space filling polyhedra, space-filling convex polyhedra with regular faces, and space-filling convex polyhedra with irregular faces.
In other embodiments, a Voronoi tessellation is applied to the randomized plurality of spatial coordinates to divide the space between all spatial coordinates. In some refinements, the shape for the cross sectional of said struts comprises a polygon. In some refinements, the shape selected for one strut differs from the shape of another strut, where the shape selected is configured to promote tissue ingrowth.
In some embodiments, the porous structure further includes a material selected from the group consisting of metal, ceramic, metal-ceramic (cermet), glass, glass-ceramic, polymer, composite and combinations thereof. In other refinements, the metallic material is selected from the group consisting of titanium, titanium alloy, zirconium, zirconium alloy, niobium, niobium alloy, tantalum, tantalum alloy, nickel-chromium (e.g., stainless steel), cobalt-chromium alloy and combinations thereof.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided, a method for providing a seamless union between at least two scaffolds comprising the steps of: providing at least two three-dimensional spaces, each space having an outer boundary and an inner volume, providing a total volume having said at least two spaces; placing a plurality of spatial coordinates along the outer boundary of each of said three-dimensional space, placing a plurality of inner spatial coordinates in the inner volume, of each of said three-dimensional space; forming said scaffold by dividing the volume of the three dimensional space among the outer and inner spatial coordinates and defining the boundary of a portion of said divided volume with one or more struts, where each strut has a first end, a second end, and a continuous elongated body between the first and second ends for each strut, selecting at least one thickness and at least one shape for one or more struts; and fabricating a porous structure according to the scaffold with said one or more struts having at least one thickness and at least one shape by exposing fusible material to an energy source. In some embodiments, the method further includes moving at least one spatial coordinate from one of said plurality of outer spatial coordinates and said plurality of inner spatial coordinates; said movement configured to provide a scaffold having a seamless union between said at least two spaces.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided, a porous structure having a plurality of struts, each strut comprises: a first end; a second end; and a continuous elongated body between said first and second ends, said body having a thickness and a length; and a plurality of nodes, each node comprises an intersection of at least two struts, where the plurality of struts and nodes formed from a model created by dividing the space between a plurality of spatial coordinates of two or more defined volumes. In some embodiments, a Voronoi tessellation is applied to the spatial coordinates to divide the space.
Other advantages and features will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the attached drawings. The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention.
For a more complete understanding of the disclosed methods and apparatuses, reference should be made to the embodiments illustrated in greater detail in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and that the disclosed embodiments are sometimes illustrated diagrammatically and in partial views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the disclosed methods and apparatuses or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that this disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONThe present disclosure provides for methods to fabricate porous structures with improved strength, porosity, and connectivity. Preferably, the improved porous structures of the present invention is formed by using a free-from fabrication method, including rapid manufacturing techniques (RMT) such as direct metal fabrication (DMF). Typically, in RMT or free-form fabrication, a model, or calculations defining the desired structure, or a computer readable file of the desired structure is provided to a computer-aided machine or apparatus that has an energy source such as a laser beam to melt or sinter powder to build the structure one layer at a time according to the provided model.
For example, RMT is an additive fabrication technique for manufacturing objects by sequential delivering energy and/or material to specified points in space to produce that part. Particularly, the objects can be produced in a layer-wise fashion from laser-fusible powders that are dispensed one layer at a time. The powder is fused, melted, remelted, or sintered, by application of the laser energy that is directed in raster-scan fashion to portions of the powder layer corresponding to a cross section of the object. After fusing the powder on one particular layer, an additional layer of powder is dispensed, and the process is repeated until the object is completed.
Detailed descriptions of selective laser sintering technology may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,863,538; 5,017,753; 5,076,869; and 4,944,817, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. Current practice is to control the manufacturing process by computer using a mathematical model created with the aid of a computer. Consequently, RMT such as selective laser re-melting and sintering technologies have enabled the direct manufacture of solid or 3-D structures of high resolution and dimensional accuracy from a variety of materials.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the porous structure is formed from powder that is selected from the group consisting of metal, ceramic, metal-ceramic (cermet), glass, glass-ceramic, polymer, composite and combinations thereof. In another embodiment, metallic powder is used and is selected from the group consisting of titanium, titanium alloy, zirconium, zirconium alloy, niobium, niobium alloy, tantalum, tantalum alloy, nickel-chromium (e.g., stainless steel), cobalt-chromium alloy and combinations thereof.
In another embodiment, the disclosed fabrication methods may form a complete orthopedic implant structure, or the disclosed techniques may be applied to a substrate or work piece which forms part of an implant. The fabrication methods disclosed herein produce porous structures the desired porosity, pore size, strength and connectivity by controlling the randomization of the scaffold of a porous structure. Cell attachment, bone in-growth and initial fixation may be improved with the randomized scaffold structures produced by the disclosed methods because the scaffold structures better simulate natural trabecular structures. As an added benefit, the implants are more aesthetically pleasing to the physician and patient, since they better resemble natural trabecular structures.
Preferably, the randomized scaffold can be created by dividing a defined volume evenly between a series of seed points that have been randomized at the boundary and within the volume. The seed points have been randomized according to a predetermined randomization limit that is preferably designed to avoid any overlap of the seed points within the volume. If more than one identical volume is used to create the randomized scaffold, the predetermined randomization limit can be used to ensure the seed points at the boundary of the volume (“outer seed points”) match up with the outer seed points of other identical volumes. As described, the volume has been divided into random portions because the seed points have been randomly placed, but the random division is controlled because there was a limit on the random placement of the seed points. The border of the divided portions serve as the struts of the randomized scaffold, and the randomized scaffold can be built into a porous structure once a strut thickness and shape are selected.
The following paragraphs provide more detailed descriptions and various embodiments and refinements of the present invention. Referring to
After the inner seed points 112 are placed or created, their positions are randomized in three-dimensional space as illustrated in
In one embodiment, the predetermined randomization limit is based upon the position of the closest neighboring seed point 112, which can be determined by, for instance, the nearest neighbor algorithm or other similar algorithms. The limit ensures that the random movements of the inner seed points 112 do not cause one inner seed point to overlap with another inner seed point 112. One seed point can overlap another seed point by partially or fully lying on top of the other seed point, or there can also be overlap when one seed point enters the defined volume surrounding another seed point. Typically, overlapping occurs more or most frequently when two dissimilar tiles are joined together because the more dissimilar the tiles, the more difficult it is to distinguish inner and outer seed points. Conversely, overlapping occurs less frequently when substantially similar tiles are combined. One way of ensuring no overlap is to limit the movement of any inner seed point 112 to be within a volume determined by the proximity of surrounding inner seed points 112. In one embodiment, such a volume may be defined as a hexahedron or a sphere with at least one of its dimensions having a radius of less than 50% or half the distance to the closest neighboring seed point. For example, referring to
In other embodiments, more abstract and complex volumes may be defined to delineate the bounds of perturbation for a given seed point. In yet other embodiments, different volume sizes can be used to limit the randomization. For instance, a 10% randomization limit placed on the movements of the inner seed points 112 means that each seed point 112 can be moved randomly within a sphere (or other shapes) having a radius of 10% of the distance between that particular seed point and its closest neighboring seed point prior to the perturbation. A 30% randomization limit means that each seed point can be moved randomly within a sphere having a radius of 30% of the distance between the seed point and its closest neighbor prior to perturbation. Accordingly, by limiting the random magnitude and direction of the perturbation of each inner seed point 112 to within a sphere or other defined three dimensional space 114 with a radius of less than half the distance to a neighboring seed point, the two seed points 112a and 112c cannot not overlap or engage each other even if the randomization results in these seed points moving directly toward each other. In some embodiments, greater limits of randomization may be established in order to allow seed point overlaps and seed point crossings during perturbation steps. However, by preventing seed points from overlapping and/or crossing, a higher level of porosity control and strength may be achieved. Accordingly, the randomization limit can be any number between 0% to 100% of the distance between a particular seed point and its closest neighbor, e.g., 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or 100%. In other embodiments, the range can exceed 100% the distance between a particular seed point and its closest neighbor. For instance, the range of the randomization limit can be 100% to 200% or 0% to 200%. Although the specification has discussed defining the predetermined randomization limit with respect to inner spatial coordinates, it should be understood that the steps discussed above can apply equally to randomizing outer spatial coordinates. In further embodiments, inner and outer seed points may be randomized using different methods and degrees of randomization.
In the preferred embodiment, the model or randomized scaffold of the porous structure is created by arraying or stacking identical cloud volumes or tiles of perturbed seed points. When the duplicated cloud volumes or tiles are arrayed or stacked, it is preferred that the randomized inner seed points 112 do not intercept or create conflicts with the outer seed points 106, 108, and 110. One way of ensuring compatibility between the inner and outer seed points is to array identical versions of cube 100 with perturbed inner seed points 112 in three-dimensional space as illustrated in
In a refinement, inner seed points 112 are randomized before the outer seed points 106, 108, and 110. Turning to
Turning to
For purposes of keeping
In summary, inbound outer seed points disposed on, adjacent to, or defining a face region like seed points 110a, c, d in
It may be preferable to provide a gradient of randomness while still maintaining a controlled porosity and/or pore size. The gradient of randomness can be achieved by many means. One way is to gradually or abruptly increase the randomization limit (e.g., increasing from 10% to 30% limit) in one or more directions within a given cube or tile or volume. Another way is to gradually or abruptly increase the number of perturbed seed point in one or more directions within a cube or tile or volume. In yet other embodiments, only one or more outer seed point regions may be perturbed, and inner seed points 65 remain unperturbed to form a sandwich of non-random seed points between random seed points. More alternatively, some refinements may exist where seed points are only perturbed at predetermined regions within an overall seed point cloud cube or tile or volume, e.g., cube 800 of
Turning to
The perturbation process can be similarly repeated for other edge outer seed points 108. That is, other edge outer seed points 108 can also be identified, indexed, and randomized according to a random number generator algorithm and a predetermined randomization limit, as described above. A corresponding set of edge outer seed points (not shown) located at the opposite face of the cube is then randomized individually or as a group, where the magnitude and direction of each perturbation of the corresponding set of points are identical to the previously randomized set. Thus, for edge outer seed points 108 disposed along an edge region that is parallel to an axis, the seed points that share a common coordinate value for that axis can be randomized independently within the group or together, as long as their counter parts are randomized identically to ensure compatible edge regions. Here, unlike
Turning to
In summary, after or during perturbation of the inner and outer seed points, to ensure that no unexpected aberrations occur at the boundaries or faces between the seed point cloud cubes or tiles or volumes, the randomized seed point cloud cube or tile or volume may be arrayed with identical seed point cloud tiles to make sure that: (1) the front and back face regions have matching seed point spatial patterns; (2) the right and left or side face regions have matching seed point spatial patterns; (3) the top and bottom face regions have matching seed point spatial patterns; (4) the edge regions disposed along and parallel to the x-axis have matching seed point spatial patterns; (5) the edge regions disposed along and parallel to the y-axis have matching seed point spatial patterns; (6) edge regions along and parallel to the z-axis have matching seed point spatial patterns; and (7) all corner regions have matching seed point spatial patterns. In one embodiment, an array of seed point cloud volume may be used for further processing to create the randomized scaffold of the porous structure. It should be noted that edge regions may not be parallel to a particular axis, especially for more complex shapes used for the initial geometry.
In a refinement, the randomization of the inner seed points 112 and the outer seed points 106,108, and 110 of the base cube or tile or volume is performed using a numerical computing environment algorithm. For example, the numerical computing environment algorithm may be a MATLAB™ algorithm. Other non-limiting examples of numerical computing environment programs SCILAB™, OCTAVE™, FREEMAT™, JMATHLIB™, MATHNIUM™, TELA™, ALGAE™, LUSH™, YORICK™, RLAB™, MAXIMA™, SAGE™, EULER™, S-LANG LIBRARY™, PYTHON™, NUMPY™, SCIPY™, THE R PROJECT™, LUA™, any similar programs that provide the same or similar computing environments as the listed programs, and combinations, sub-combinations and variations thereof. Other programs will be apparent to those skilled in the art and future programs either under current development or future development will also be apparent to those skilled in the art. This disclosure is not limited to the particular software used to generate the randomized base tile and the software used to create three-dimensional structures from the multiplied randomized base cube or tile or volume. The volume of the initial geometry and number of seed points distributed within the volume and at the boundary can be chosen at the user's discretion. In the preferred embodiment, the volume and number of seed points depend on the information provided by clinical studies and literature regarding the preferred or optimal openings and pore size per volume.
While the figures illustrate the disclosed methods using a cubical space or cubical spatial coordinates, it will be noted here that this disclosure is not limited to six-sided base structures or six-sided outer geometries. Instead, as mentioned previously, the disclosed methods apply to any space filling polyhedra (sometimes referred to as plesiohedra), space-filling convex polyhedra with regular faces including the triangular prism, hexagonal prism, cube, truncated octahedron and gyrobifastigium, space-filling convex polyhedra with irregular faces including the rhombic dodecahedron, elongated dodecahedron, and squashed dodecahedron, and any non-self-intersecting quadrilateral prism. Other possibilities are too numerous to mention here. In lieu of Cartesian coordinates, spherical, cylindrical and other coordinates may also be used that would require the tiles to be appropriately scaled as they are positioned further away from the origin base tile. In a refinement, a gradient density algorithm can be incorporated into the data for the base tile to aid in matching up the borders between tiles. Thus, use of the terms “tile,” “volume,” and “initial geometry” herein covers multiple types of three-dimensional shapes.
In the preferred embodiment, the base volume of randomized seed points may then be multiplied and tiled together with other identical base volumes to form a three dimensional scaffold for a porous structure, where the scaffold has a controlled randomness. However, in other refinements, a single base volume of randomized seed points can serve as the scaffold for the porous structure. That is, if the initial volume selected is sufficiently large, then it can serve as the scaffold of a porous structure after seed points are planted and randomized in a controlled manner as described above. In this refinement, it may not be necessary to confirm compatibility with other identical volumes since only one volume is necessary to form the scaffold. The methods of the present disclosure are applicable to fabricate a variety of implants, including but not limited to, implants of the hip, including compression hip screws, knee, ankle, dental, shoulder, foot/hand, flanges, spine, skull plates, fracture plates, intramedullary rods, augments, staples, bone screws, cardiovascular implants, such as heart valves and artificial heart and ventricular assist devices, ligament and muscle fasteners, other small joint implants, and other implants. Also, while the base volume of randomized seed points is preferably used to build three dimensional scaffold structures for porous implants, it may apply to other applications as well, such as manufactured items that require resistance to vibrations, irregular loads, twisting of the structure, such as filters, heat sinks, cushions, wound dressings, cartilage or fat pad substitute, instrument weight reduction material, rasp, tissue sampling structure, debridement burr.
The disclosed techniques for fabricating porous structures of controlled randomness substantially reduce memory requirements of the RMT. For instance, the calculation for an initial tile or volume can be duplicated and reused to build an implant or many implants.
In embodiments using a plurality of identical volumes of randomized seed points produced by the process described above, it is also desirable to define an initial volume that is as large as possible so that the final scaffold has a minimal number of seams between tiles or volumes. If a spherical, cylindrical, etc. coordinate system is chosen, the tiles are scaled as they are positioned further and further away from the origin of the coordinate system or center of an array of seed points such as the one shown in
Also in refinements of scaffolds using a plurality of identical volumes of randomized seed points, struts are then created for the scaffold by dividing the space between the randomized seed points with lines after compatibility between the identical cubes or tiles or volumes is confirmed. The division of the volume can be achieved in several ways. Preferably, it is done by applying any higher-order Voronoi tessellation algorithm, such as a QHull algorithm, Ken Clarkson's “Hull” algorithm, cdd, or Mac-Queen's k-means algorithm, to the randomized seed points. However, any method/algorithm of calculating the three-dimensional Voronoi tessellation, other than a QHull algorithm, may produce acceptable results. Because the compatibility between the identical cubes or tiles or volumes of randomized seed points has been confirmed, the Voronoi tessellation algorithm can be applied before or after the multiplication of the base volume of randomized seed points. That is, one way the scaffold can be built is by (1) creating a base volume of randomized seed points according to the disclosed methods, (2) multiplying and tiling a sufficient number of identical base volume of randomized seed points to form a scaffold with the desired dimensions, (3) dividing the space between all the randomized seed points generated by the copying and tiling of the base volumes, e.g., applying a higher order Voronoi tessellation algorithm, to form the struts of the scaffold, and (4) removing the seed points to form a three dimensional model of the randomized scaffold. A second way it can be done is by (1) creating a base volume of randomized seed points according to the disclosed methods, (2) dividing the space between the randomized seed points of just that single base volume of randomized seed points, e.g., applying a Voronoi tessellation algorithm, to form the struts for that base volume, (3) removing the seed points to form a base volume with randomized struts, and (4) multiplying the base volume with randomized struts and tiling a sufficient number of identical base volumes with randomized struts to form a scaffold with the desired dimensions. Both of these ways of dividing the space between the randomized seed points result in the same division and randomized struts structures for the scaffold. Also, before the space between the randomized seed points is divided, it is contemplated that certain seed points may be eliminated or additional seed points may be added to achieve the irregularity and/or porosity as desired or required by certain applications.
In one embodiment, a user can code the software program used to divide the space between the seed points to eliminate any redundant lines.
In other embodiments, however, the step of dividing the space between the randomized seed points and eliminating any redundant lines may be separated. Referring to
One way of removing the excess redundant lines is illustrated in
The threshold angle θ is typically 10° or less, e.g., 1°, 2°, 3°, 4°, 5°, 6°, 7°, 8°, or 9°. If, after choosing a threshold angle θ that may be too low and some of the openings in a convex hull 1202 are still obscured by a number of redundant lines 1206, the threshold angle θ may be increased and the algorithm re-run. However, choosing a high threshold angle θ, e.g., greater than 10°, may risk of removing some of the desirable edges of a base volume with randomized struts. This is generally not desirable, but may advantageously be used to increase pore size without significantly affecting the strength. In another refinement, the threshold angle range may be less than 6°, and more preferably, the threshold angle range may be less than 4°.
The above-described threshold angle θ limitation technique can also yield a base volume with randomized struts similar to base volume 1100 of
After a scaffold comprising one or more base volumes of randomized struts is created, the line data of that scaffold may be exported a modeling program or algorithm, or directly to rapid manufacturing equipment (e.g., by first converting line data to a *.stl file and downloading to a rapid prototyping machine). When the scaffold is sent directly to the machine, it must have a means of determining which portion of the scaffold should be built and which should be ignored because it is outside of the solid part. In one example, the lines defining the struts of base volume 1100 may be assigned a coordinate system, which can be used to transform individual STL shells representing an idealized strut of appropriate shape and thickness to the location of the lines. Then the resulting collection of STL shells is written to an STL file to define a porous three-dimensional tile. In another example, the lines defining the struts of base volume 1100 may be converted to a text file (*.exp extension) that corresponded to UNIGRAPHICS™ “expressions” that could be imported into such a modeling program. The solid-modeling program serves the purpose of taking a scaffold structure with infinitely thin lines, such as the base volume 1100 of
In other refinements, the three dimensional scaffold model may be converted to line data readable by a CAD program or directly to data readable by a solid modeling program if not already in a format directly readable by rapid manufacturing equipment. Other sold-modeling programs may be used or algorithms may be used to apply one or more predetermined thicknesses to the line data of the three dimensional scaffold model, so the model can be exported to the machine for fabricating a corresponding porous structure.
In one embodiment, during the modeling process, the strut lines 1204 (e.g.,
In at least the refinements where the volume of randomized seed points are first multiplied and tiled to form a generally shaped scaffold of desired dimensions before the total volume of that scaffold is divided between the randomized seed points, an algorithm to unite the different volumes may not be necessary as process produces a seamlessly divided overall scaffold. In other refinements, however, a Boolean unite algorithm may be used to create a more unified scaffold if necessary. Referring to
In
The tiles 1702, 1802, and 1902 may be arranged row by row and stacked with only the outermost struts 1204 overlapping to create any size or shape as illustrated in
Also, many software applications will work to perform the tiling/forming operation. The tiling can be performed in a solid-modeling program like UNIGRAPHICS™, in a program used for advanced NURBS™ and triangulation manipulation such as GEOMAGIC™, in a program dedicated to triangulated file formats like NetFabb, or manually in the *.stl file itself *.stl files are simply a representation of triangulated solids which can be translated and mirrored with any number of bodies. Once the solid has been tiled and manipulated as desired, an *.stl file or the like can be used in rapid-prototype machines. Once the desired structure is defined, it can be exported to a format readable by rapid prototype machines such as *.stl (stereolithography) format. While the specific tiles 1802, 1902, and 2002 disclosed
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) photographs of a portion of tiles 1702, 1802, 1902 disclosed
Preferred embodiments of porous structures may include 60-85% porosity as known to those skilled in the art. In some embodiments, the average diameter of the pores of the present invention is in the range of 0.01 to 2000 microns. More preferably, the average diameter of the pores is in the range of 50 to 1000 microns. Most preferably, the average diameter of the pores is in the range of 400 to 850 microns.
In a refinement, the average strut thickness for a tile ranges from about 100 μm to about 400 μM. More preferably, the range is from about 180 μm to about 300 μm. In another refinement, the average pore size (MVIL) or fenestration opening diameter ranges from about 200 μm to about 1970 μm, more preferably from 100 μm to 700 μM, and most preferably from 200 μm to 450 μm. Also, the strut thicknesses may be randomized and/or the pore sizes may be randomized.
MVIL refers to Mean Void Intercept Length, which is another way of characterizing the average pore size, particularly in structures where the pore shapes and sizes are not uniform. One generally known definition of MVIL is “measurement grid lines are oriented parallel to the substrate interface. The number of times the lines intercept voids is used with the volume percent void to calculate the mean void intercept length.”
Boolean-intersect and Boolean unite functions may be employed with base volume of randomized struts 1100 (e.g.,
As mentioned above,
As demonstrated, the present disclosure provides for the seamless interface between two different scaffold unit tiles without the need to manually manipulate the struts of the two tiles to match up to one another. Instead, in some embodiments, the seamless interface was created by manipulating the negative space, i.e., the space between the struts. The negative space manipulation can be achieved by ensuring that the seed points at the interface between the two tiles, whether substantially identical in shape and randomization or substantially different, correspond to one another. For instance, preferably, there should be only one shared subset of outer seed points at the interface of two tiles. This can be achieved at least by randomizing the outer seed points separate from the inner seed points, limiting the randomization of certain inner seed points, or adding or removing inner seed points. After the negative space is divided to form a scaffold, then the struts can be given a shape and a size to create a seamless porous structure that is made up of different tiles. Preferably, two seed point clouds, whether dissimilar or not, that share a boundary before the scaffold is created will share struts after the scaffold is created.
In view of the above, the present disclosure provides for methods to fabricate a randomized porous structure by manipulating the negative space, i.e., the space between the struts, rather than manipulating the struts themselves for randomization. Accordingly, the methods of the present disclosure allows for time- and cost-effective fabrications of complex porous structure. The present disclosure provides for methods to fabricate original randomized structures, as opposed to a randomized existing structure, that have seamless unions between any connecting units. Consequently, the porous structure created according to the aspects of the present disclosure provide improved strength without requiring the struts to be thicker, as other uniform porous structures may. Further, the randomized structure provides enhanced stress or vibration resistance due to the randomized placement of the struts and their intersections, thereby eliminating planes of fractures that exist in uniform structures where the structures are exposed to shear stress. Additionally, the improved complexity of the porous structures of the present disclosure provides for resemblance of trabecular features and improved porosity. Moreover, the methods of the present disclosure allow for simple and efficient customization of a porous structures with the desired strength, pore distribution, average pore sizes, porosity, etc.
Also, the present disclosure may be used to create and combine a plurality of tiles without randomizing the seed points. The tiles can have substantially identical or substantially different shapes and/or sizes, ranging from simple to complex structure, as long as the tiles have the same or corresponding outer seed points, a seamless interface can be formed when the space is divided. In some embodiments, creating a seamless union between one tile of one shape or size can have a regular distribution of seed points and another tile of another shape and/or size can be done by ensuring the same placement in both tiles of the seed points that most influences the boundary between the tiles, i.e., the outer seed points. For example, it is difficult to create a Weaire-Phelan structure as a tile that is stackable to form a seamless porous structure. The methods described in the present disclosure, however, provide for simple techniques to achieve such tasks and allow for automation of such process via programming of software.
Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.
Claims
1. A method comprising:
- defining a model of a porous structure comprising an array of volumes, the volumes defining a boundary of the porous structure;
- defining one or more seed points defining locations of one or more struts of the porous structure that intersect the boundary; and
- moving some or all of the defined seed points to a different location.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more struts are formed as an elongated body defined between two end nodes on the boundary, between an end node outside of the boundary and an end node in an interior of one of the volumes or between an end node on the boundary and an end node in an interior of one of the volumes.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein some or all of the seed points are moved to new locations such that locations of struts defined by the moved seed points have end nodes on the boundary.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein moving some of all of the of the seed points comprises repositioning each seed point to be moved to a new location determined by a mathematical calculation based on the original position of the seed point.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein moving some of all of the of the seed points causes a change in length of one or more struts whose positions are defined by the new locations of the one or more repositioned seed points.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein struts having an end node outside of the boundary caused by movement of a seed point are discarded.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein movement of a seed point that causes an end node of a strut to be outside of the boundary causes the portion of the strut outside of the boundary to be discarded.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein movement of a seed point that causes an end node of a strut to be outside of the boundary further causes a new end node for the strut to be defined on the boundary.
9. The method of claim 4, wherein struts having an end node outside of the boundary caused by movement of a seed point are retained in the model.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the volumes are identical.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the boundary of the porous structure is defined by edges or sides of the volumes.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the model is saved to a computer-readable file suitable for use by a computer-aided apparatus for building the porous structure.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the computer-aided apparatus uses an additive fabrication technique.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the additive fabrication technique comprises:
- iteratively depositing successive layers of metal powder onto a substrate.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the additive fabrication technique further comprises:
- fusing, melting, re-melting or sintering each successive layer of metal powder.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein each successive layer of metal powder is fused, melted, re-melted, or sintered by application of laser energy to portions of the powder layer corresponding to a cross-section of the object.
17. A computer-aided apparatus for constructing a porous structure from a model comprising:
- a build platform;
- a processor;
- an energy source; and
- software for execution on the processor for controlling the energy source, the software performing the functions of:
- taking as input the model of the porous structure, the model comprising an array of volumes, the volumes defining a boundary of the porous structure;
- defining one or more seed points on the boundary, the one or more seed points defining locations of one or more struts of the porous structure that intersect the boundary;
- moving some or all of the seed points on the boundary to a different location.
18. The computer-aided apparatus of claim 17, wherein the software performs the further function of:
- controlling the energy source to fabricate the porous structure on the build platform.
19. The computer-aided apparatus of claim 18, wherein fabrication of the porous structure uses an additive fabrication technique to construct the porous structure, the technique comprising:
- iteratively depositing successive layers of a material onto a substrate; and
- fusing, melting, re-melting or sintering each successive layer of material;
- wherein each successive layer of material is fused, melted, re-melted, or sintered by application of energy from the energy source to portions of the powder layer corresponding to a cross-section of the porous structure, under control of the software.
20. The computer-aided apparatus of claim 19, wherein the material is metal powder.
21. The computer-aided apparatus of claim 19, wherein the energy source is a laser providing laser energy.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 13, 2021
Publication Date: Nov 4, 2021
Inventors: Ryan L. Landon (Memphis, TN), Aashiish Agnihotri (Memphis, TN), Laura J. Gilmour (Memphis, TN), Jeffrey Sharp (Memphis, TN), Randy C. Winebarger (Memphis, TN)
Application Number: 17/374,013
