Manufacturing of individual biodegradable bone substitute implants using selective laser melting technique.

The additive manufacturing technique selective laser melting (SLM) has been successfully proved to be suitable for applications in implant manufacturing. SLM is well known for metal parts and offers direct manufacturing of three-dimensional (3D) parts with high bulk density on the base of individual 3D data, including computer tomography models of anatomical structures. Furthermore, an interconnecting porous structure with defined and reproducible pore size can be integrated during the design of the 3D virtual model of the implant.