Speakers
Description
The development of anatomically realistic synthetic bone surrogates offers a promising alternative to cadaveric specimens for orthopedic biomechanics research. This study proposes an integrated design-to-validation framework for a multi-material PolyJet-printed surrogate of the proximal human femur. Patient-derived CT data were used to reconstruct femoral geometry, while combinations of printable materials and trabecular porosity levels were investigated to emulate the mechanical behavior of cortical and cancellous bone. Mechanical characterization was performed through displacement-controlled tensile testing of printed dogbone specimens, and the resulting material properties were calibrated and validated using finite element analysis. The validated material models were incorporated into a proximal femur finite element model and assessed under compressive loading conditions. Comparison with a literature-based biological reference demonstrated that the synthetic surrogate successfully reproduced the characteristic stress concentrations and load-transfer pathways of native bone. Although the surrogate exhibited reduced stiffness, leading to approximately four times greater deformation and a failure load about 50% lower than the biological model, it captured the essential qualitative biomechanical response of the proximal femur. These findings highlight the potential of multi-material PolyJet printing to produce reproducible, customizable, and anatomically accurate femoral surrogates, providing a scalable platform for orthopedic device testing, surgical planning, and future investigations of bone pathologies such as osteoporosis.
| Topic Area | Design Optimization, Additive Manufacturing Technologies & Applications |
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