Integrating extrusion process and additive manufacturing for biomedical breakthroughs

Extrusion is extensively used due to its ability to produce intricate products that maintain a uniform cross-sectional shape throughout their complete length. Beyond manufacturing sectors, the extrusion process extends its application into the biomedical domain. Collagen, a biocompatible substance, is prominently used in biomedical applications due to its inherent properties. The biocompatible nature of magnesium facilitates its application in production of bone fixtures, screws, bone plates and stents. Material extrusion presents a unique approach towards advancement in additive manufacturing by utilization of metals, polymers, ceramics, composites and smart materials for implant fabrication. The extrusion technique's ability to fabricate patient specific and low-cost implants makes it an important element in enhancing patient outcomes. In orthopedics, this process is utilized to fabricate various types of bone plates, screws, intramedullary nails and other implants used in fracture fixation and joint replacement surgeries. This study provides an insight knowledge about the materials used in extrusion process of biomedical implants. It also discusses about various orthopedic and orthodontic implants produced using conventional and extrusion based additive manufacturing processes. The extrusion based additive manufacturing technique poses a variety of challenges such as proper configuration of printing parameters, methodology for effective utilization of diverse material availability, long printing time for layer-by-layer fabrication, post processing requirements, cross contamination between materials on application of multi extruder system and continuous alignment of tools during the fabrication process. The potential future directions related to the study in this field have also been discussed.