Biomechanical failure behaviour of 3D printed femoral bones compared to artificial and human bones: 27th Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics, 26.-29.06.2022, Porto, Portugal

The limited amount of human tissue donors makes it
organizationally hard to investigate the biomechanical
behavior of human femoral bones. To circumvent the
problem, artificial bones are often used [1]. Currently a
broad range of different casted artificial bones are
commercially available, ranging from polyurethanebased
foam models to more complex composite
materials. However, these models are only generic
representations of the geometry and the biomechanical
behavior of human bones. In previous studies, fused
deposition modelling (FDM) was successfully used to
mimic natural bones [2]. The aim of this study was to
use 3D printing for the fabrication of artificial human
femoral bones with biomechanical behavior resembling
that of their real counterparts. One group of samples is
based on the geometry and infill properties of
commercial artificial femurs to validate and optimize
the process. For the second group, patient specific
computed tomography scans (CT-scans) were used for
the geometry. All printed bones are then mechanically
tested and compared to their geometrical analogue
commercial and human donor bone.