Additive manufacturing-based design approaches and challenges for orthopaedic bone screws: a state-of-the-art review

Bone screws are used in almost every orthopaedic surgery to treat and fix fractured parts of the bone. In this new era, the ongoing revolution on manufacturing of bone screw uses innovative techniques of new generation such as the adaptation of additive manufacturing technology, intelligent technology automation and Industry 4.0. Additive manufacturing (AM) technology has been gaining much attention in fabricating orthopaedic bone screws. Moreover, the recent advancement in the materials and technologies used to manufacture the bone screw utilizing AM technology may reduce bone-screw-related complications. This review article presents a comprehensive and up-to-date review of various AM techniques used to fabricate metallic orthopaedic bone screws. Additionally, this article summarizes the characteristics, merits and demerits of the prominent biomaterials explored to fabricate orthopaedic bone screws until the twenty-first century. This state-of-the-art review is helpful for medical surgeons, researchers and design engineers to understand the complicated relationship among various parameters. Finally, this holistic review paper identifies significant challenges that need to be overcome before realizing the real potential of AM technology for fabrication of orthopaedic bone screws.