Custom Humeral Joint Prostheses Using Additive Manufacturing and Biocompatible Smart Materials

Personalizing prosthetic components based on individual anatomical landmarks can increase implant lifespan and it can reduce the postoperative complications due to prosthesis geometry that does not mold on the patient’s anatomy. This article aims to present a method of optimizing shoulder prostheses by conducting both medical and technological studies, based on which a personalized prototype was obtained, designed according to the patient s landmarks. Thus, a computer-assisted methodology has been developed that targets the preoperative planning of shoulder arthroplasty starting from the traditional planning used by orthopedic surgeons, as well as the principles of determining the relevant humeral parameters. Initially, a set of DICOM CT (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) patient scans with a presumed fracture at the glenohumeral joint requiring a shoulder arthroplasty was used. The acquired data were transferred to a medical image processing software, where was performed the bone segmentation, specifying the image processing algorithms used to reconstruct the geometry of the patient s shoulder. The 3D model of the humerus obtained during this stage was imported into a CAD (Computer Aided Design) software application where the humeral anatomical landmarks were established and used to design a suitable prosthesis according to patient s needs, which was manufactured through additive manufacturing using a biocompatible material.