Design, Fabrication, and Characterization of Scaffolds via Solid Free-Form Fabrication Techniques - Biomaterials Fabrication and Processing - page 45

2 Design, Fabrication,

and Characterization of
Scaffolds via Solid Free-Form
Fabrication Techniques

Dietmar W. Hutmacher and Maria Ann Woodruff

CONTENTS

2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................. 45
2.1.1 Scaffold-Based Tissue Engineering ............................................................................ 46
2.2 Scaffold Design ....................................................................................................................... 50
2.2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 50
2.2.2 Morphology/Architecture ............................................................................................ 51
2.3 Solid Free-Form Fabrication ................................................................................................... 53
2.3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 53
2.3.1.1 Stereolithography .......................................................................................... 53
2.3.1.2 Selective Laser Sintering .............................................................................. 55
2.3.1.3 Solid Ground Curing..................................................................................... 56
2.3.2 Three-Dimensional Printing ....................................................................................... 56
2.3.3 Systems Based on Extrusion/Direct Writing .............................................................. 57
2.4 Future Directions .................................................................................................................... 62
2.4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 62
2.4.2 Cell/Organ Printing ..................................................................................................... 63
2.4.3 Robot-Assisted Construct Fabrication......................................................................... 65
2.5 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 65
References ........................................................................................................................................ 66

2.1 INTRODUCTION
The recently coined term “regenerative medicine” represents a shift in emphasis from current meth-
ods to replace tissues with medical devices and artifi cial organs toward more biological approaches,
which focus on regeneration rather than replacement or repair. Regenerative medicine has many com-
ponents, however, it can be argued that cell therapy and tissue engineering are currently the fl agship
areas. In addition, this technology has the potential to develop therapies for previously untreatable dis-
eases and conditions. Examples of diseases that regenerative medicine might alleviate one day include
diabetes, heart disease, renal failure, osteoporosis, and spinal cord injuries. The current generation of
baby boomers would almost certainly rally behind the rationale to advance into regenerative medicine
as it offers them the greatest hope for the most effective medical treatment and quality of life in their
senior years. Beyond the obvious health benefi ts of regenerative medicine from a patient's point of
view, this technology is desperately needed to challenge rising healthcare costs around the world. 1

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