颅骨修补材料研究现状及3D打印技术应用前景

Research status of skull repair materials and the prospect of three-dimensional printing technology

BACKGROUND: Skull repair materials cannot only restore the normal shape of the skull, but also play an important role in brain functional recovery. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the research status of polyetheretherketone (PEEK), titanium alloy and tissue engineering technique in cranioplasty and the prospect of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology.METHODS: Literatures related to skull repair materials were retrieved in databases of CNKI and PubMed published from 1995 to 2016, using the keywords of “bone regeneration material in calvarial, 3d printing bone scaffold” in Chinese and English, respectively.  RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Although titanium and PEEK have been used in clinic, titanium holds conductivity, thermal conductivity, while PEEK that may be displaced or lost is not involved in osseointegration. Tissue engineering technology participates in the skull tissue reconstruction, achieving satisfactory repair outcomes, but the problems of scaffold selection and preparation, seed cell obtainment, and growth factor release need to be overcomed. 3D printing technology can print personalized shape, fit the defect precisely, but the raw materials should have good biocompatibility and biomechanical property. Combination of tissue engineering technology with 3D printing technology shows a broad prospect in cranioplasty.