System and method of manufacturing a medical implant

Abstract

A system and method for forming a medical implant using a printing device. The printing device includes a print head having a heated nozzle, a heated build plate for receiving the printed material thereon, and a reflective plate having an active heater. A method for forming a medical device includes extruding a printing material by contiguous deposition to form a porous object having a lattice-like structure. The medical device, such as a spinal implant, may have interconnected pores and different regions, each having a different porosity for encouraging bone growth therein. The printed medical implant may be designed to be patient-specific, customized, and printed on-demand.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method for additive manufacturing of an article, the method comprising:
 extruding a continuous strand of a print material from a nozzle of an additive manufacturing system to deposit multiple successive layers of the print material on a top surface of a build plate of the additive manufacturing tool, in which the top surface of the build plate is disposed on a heating layer of the build plate; and   during the extrusion, by a control system, controlling one or more of (1) motion of the build plate, (2) motion of the nozzle, (3) the temperature of the heating layer of the build plate, or (4) the temperature of the nozzle.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , comprising controlling one or more of (1) the motion of the build plate, (2) the motion of the nozzle, (3) the temperature of the heating layer of the build plate, or (4) the temperature of the nozzle responsive to a temperature of one or more of the deposited layers of the print material. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , comprising controlling one or more of (1) the motion of the build plate, (2) the motion of the nozzle, (3) the temperature of the heating layer of the build plate, or (4) the temperature of the nozzle to maintain the temperature of the one or more of the deposited layers of the print material within a predefined range. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , comprising controlling one or more of (1) the motion of the build plate, (2) the motion of the nozzle, (3) the temperature of the heating layer of the build plate, or (4) the temperature of the nozzle to maintain the temperature of the one or more of the deposited layers of the print material of the print material within a temperature range sufficient to prevent crystallization of the deposited layers. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , in which the print material comprises polyaryletherketone (PAEK), and
 in which the method comprises controlling one or more of (1) the motion of the build plate, (2) the motion of the nozzle, (3) the temperature of the heating layer of the build plate, or (4) the temperature of the nozzle to maintain temperature of the one or more of the deposited layers of the print material in a range between 140° C. and 160° C.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , comprising during the extrusion, by the control system, controlling a heater configured to heat the print material in a feed tube upstream of the nozzle. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , comprising by the control system, controlling one or more of a duration of the heating, a timing of an activation of the heater, or an amount of heat generated by the heater. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , comprising by the control system, controlling the heater responsive to a temperature of the print material during the extrusion. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 2 , in which the controlling further comprises during the extrusion, by the control system, independently controlling each of one or more heaters that are positioned to direct heat toward the print surface of the build plate, toward the article, or both, responsive to the temperature of the one or more of the deposited layers of the print material. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , comprising controlling the one or more heaters to maintain temperature of the one or more of the deposited layers of the print material within a temperature range sufficient to prevent crystallization of the one or more layers. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 2 , in which the controlling further comprises during the extrusion, by the control system, controlling a cooling element that is positioned to cool the print surface of the build plate, the article, or both, responsive to the temperature of the one or more of the deposited layers of the print material. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 2 , comprising by the control system, controlling an extrusion rate of the continuous filament of the print material from the nozzle. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , comprising controlling a motion of the build plate in a direction that lies in a plate of the build plate based on an extrusion rate of the continuous filament of print material and based on a target thickness for a bead of the print material in the article. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 2 , in which the controlling further comprises during the extrusion, by the control system, controlling one or more of (1) the motion of the build plate, (2) the motion of the nozzle, (3) the temperature of the heating layer of the build plate, or (4) the temperature of the nozzle responsive to user input. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 2 , in which the controlling further comprises during the extrusion, by the control system, controlling one or more of (1) the motion of the build plate, (2) the motion of the nozzle, (3) the temperature of the heating layer of the build plate, or (4) the temperature of the nozzle according to an algorithm. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 2 , in which the control system implements a machine learning algorithm. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 2 , comprising:
 extruding the continuous filament of the print material to form multiple aligned rows in a first layer; and   extruding the continuous filament of the print material to form multiple aligned rows in a second layer disposed on the first layer.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , comprising after forming the multiple aligned rows of the first layer and before forming the multiple aligned rows of the second layer, rotating the build plate relative to the nozzle. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , comprising rotating the build plate by 36°. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 18 , comprising extruding the continuous filament of the print material such that the multiple aligned rows of each of the layers have a wave, zigzag, serpentine, or curved configuration. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 18 , comprising extruding the continuous filament of the of the print material such that each row is separated from an adjacent row by a gap having a width of between 50 μm and 500 μm. 
     
     
         23 . A medical implant comprising:
 multiple layers of polyaryletherketone (PAEK), in which each layer is composed of a continuous length of PAEK disposed in aligned rows, and in which at least two adjacent layers comprise the same continuous length of PAEK,
 in which the rows in each layer are disposed at a non-zero angle relative to the rows in each adjacent layer; 
 in which the multiple layers of PAEK define a network of interconnected pores. 
   
     
     
         24 . The medical implant of  claim 23 , in which at least some of the aligned rows have a wave, zigzag, serpentine, or curved configuration. 
     
     
         25 . The medical implant of  claim 23 , in which the rows in each layer are disposed at an angle of 36° relative to the rows in each adjacent layer. 
     
     
         26 . The medical implant of  claim 23 , in which the pores have a dimension in the range of 300 μm to 350 μm. 
     
     
         27 . The medical implant of  claim 23 , comprising a coating disposed on the PAEK. 
     
     
         28 . A medical implant produced by a process comprising:
 depositing multiple layers of PAEK in an additive manufacturing process, in which each layer is composed of aligned rows of PAEK, the depositing comprising:
 extruding a continuous filament of PAEK from a nozzle of an additive manufacturing tool to deposit a first layer of the multiple layers; 
 rotating the first layer of the medical implant relative to the nozzle of the additive manufacturing system; and 
 extruding the continuous filament of PAEK onto the first layer to form a second layer of the multiple layers such that the rows of the first layer are disposed at a non-zero angle relative to the rows of the second layer, 
   in which the multiple layers of PAEK define a network of interconnected pores.   
     
     
         29 . The medical implant of  claim 28 , in which extruding the continuous filament of PEEK comprises extruding the continuous filament of PEEK in a wave, zigzag, serpentine, or curved pattern. 
     
     
         30 . The medical implant of  claim 28 , in which rotating the first layer of the surgical implant comprises rotating the first layer by an angle of 36°. 
     
     
         31 . The medical implant of  claim 28 , in which the pores have a dimension in the range of 100 μm to 500 μm. 
     
     
         32 . The medical implant of  claim 31 , in which the pores have a dimension in the range of 300 μm to 350 μm. 
     
     
         33 . The medical implant of  claim 28 , in which the process comprises disposing a coating on the PEEK. 
     
     
         34 . The medical implant of  claim 33 , in which disposing a coating on the PEEK comprises dipping the PEEK into a solution to form the coating. 
     
     
         35 . The medical implant of  claim 28 , in which the process comprises annealing the layers of PEEK at a temperature that is below a glass transition temperature of the PEEK. 
     
     
         36 . The medical implant of  claim 28 , in which the depositing comprises heating the nozzle of the additive manufacturing tool to a temperature of between 420° C. and 450° C.