Abstract text (incl. figure legends and references)
Introduction:
Biomaterials have been an active area of research for decades, but there is still a need for new and optimized implant materials. In this context, optimized means that the materials exhibit high biocompatibility. This also applies to implant sites in the skull bone, where due to physiology and the high demand for patient-specific shaping, existing materials and manufacturing technologies often only partially meet the requirements.
Objectives:
The aim of this study is to evaluate the biocompatibility of titanium implants in a short-term animal experiment (with a service life of 3 months). Surface compatibility and structural compatibility of implants produced using two additive manufacturing techniques (SLM, EBM) will be investigated. Two established implant materials, conventionally produced (milled) titanium and Bioverit®, serve as reference implants.
Materials and Methods:
Basis oft he study are 3D-μCT image data of the explanted and plastic-embedded implants together with surrounding (bone) tissue. The available 3D image data from μCT scans are visualized, segmented, and analyzed using the 3D Slicer software. Various parameters, such as the distance between bone and implant (Bone Implant Distance, BID) and the percentage of direct contact between bone and implant material (bone implant contact, BIC), are quantitatively recorded. Additionally, other quantitative parameters of the bone surrounding the implant are analyzed. The morphometric, software-based HistoGap method is used for the quantitative evaluation of osseointegration of the tested implant materials.
Results and Conclusion:
Preliminary comparisons of the evaluation of EBM and SLM titanium specimens with conventional titanium and Bioverit after segmentation and suitable measurements show promising results regarding osseointegration. Further morphometric evaluation using the HistoGap software and a statistical analysis are the next steps in this investigation.