MSU Technologies

COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY AND ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED BIOMATERIAL IMPLANT

VAlue proposition

The use of implantable biomedical tissue engineering scaffolds (TES) in the clinic is growing rapidly. Often, TES are engineered to perform critical functions in regenerative medicine, including providing mechanical support, delivering therapeutic molecules, and creating protective barriers. Clinically approved TES for these purposes include devices such as biodegradable polymer hernia patches and meniscus replacements. As TES gain clinical acceptance, the trend is to adapt these tools for personalized medicine. This has been demonstrated most successfully for orthopedic devices that can be 3D printed on demand and often at the pointof-care, to repair bone structures after trauma.

Description of Technology

We have been embedding a number of different types of metallic nanoparticles into a variety of different types of polymers and making implantable structures out of them. By using a new computed tomography technique called photon counting CT, especially k-edge imaging, we can specifically detect the radiopaque materials, creating pseudo-color images, akin to material decomposition. This differs from standard CT where we simply ‘see’ the radiopaque implant because it is bright. In this technology, a radiopaque composite is developed and implemented to enable the use of diagnostic X-ray technologies, especially spectral photon counting X-ray computed tomography, for comprehensive tissue engineering scaffold monitoring. TES are then 3D printed with the composite filament, optimizing printing parameters for small features and severely overhung geometries. These composite TES are characterized via micro-computed tomography with excellent radiographic distinguishability. The technology unambiguously distinguishes an implanted meniscus in situ via means of color K-edge imaging.

Benefits