Fractal tool paths for layered manufacturing of scaffolds with matched bone properties

Tissue engineering has shown great promise to repairing large segmental bone fractures. In this technique, the design of scaffolding material and modeling of porous structure are important issues to be addressed. These porous structures provide initial support for cell adhesion and growth and gradually resorb during bone regeneration. The pore sizes, distribution, interconnectivity, strength of the scaffold are critical factors in the design of scaffolds. Layered Manufacturing (LM) techniques have shown great promise for fabricating tissue scaffolds with specific designed properties. The present work aims at studying the applicability of using space-filling fractal curves as tools paths for LM of porous hydroxyapatite scaffolds with optimized mechanical properties along with the constraints on pore sizes for repair and regeneration of bone. Specifically, theoretical mechanical modulus, porosity and pore sizes that are obtainable in LM using the fractal curves for a chosen bio material have been derived. © 2010 Taylor & Francis Group.