Habiba Rachel, Amaro Ana, Trindade Daniela, Moura Carla, Silva Rui, Antão André, Martins Rui F, Malça Cândida, Branco Ricardo
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra, Rua Luis Reis Santos, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal.
Center for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development (CDRSP), Polytechnic of Leiria, 2430-028 Marinha Grande, Portugal.
Polymers (Basel). 2024 Jun 28;16(13):1843. doi: 10.3390/polym16131843.
Orthotic devices play an important role in medical treatment, addressing various pathologies and promoting patient recovery. Customization of orthoses to fit individual patient morphologies and needs is essential for optimal functionality and patient comfort. The advent of additive manufacturing has revolutionized the biomedical field, offering advantages such as cost reduction, increased personalization, and enhanced dimensional adaptability for orthotics manufacturing. This research focuses on the impact strength of nine polymeric materials printed by additive manufacturing, including an evaluation of the materials' performance under varying conditions comprising different printing directions (vertical and horizontal) and exposure to artificial sweat for different durations (0 days, 24 days, and 189 days). The results showed that Nylon 12 is good for short-term (24 days) immersion, with absorbed energies of 78 J and 64 J for the vertical and horizontal directions, whereas Polycarbonate (PC) is good for long-term immersion (189 days), with absorbed energies of 66 J and 78 J for the vertical and horizontal directions. Overall, the findings contribute to a better understanding of the suitability of these materials for biomedical applications, considering both short-term and long-term exposure to physiological and environmental conditions.
矫形器械在医学治疗中发挥着重要作用，可应对各种病症并促进患者康复。根据患者个体形态和需求定制矫形器对于实现最佳功能和患者舒适度至关重要。增材制造的出现彻底改变了生物医学领域，为矫形器制造带来了成本降低、个性化增强以及尺寸适应性提高等优势。本研究聚焦于通过增材制造打印的九种聚合物材料的冲击强度，包括评估这些材料在不同条件下的性能，这些条件包括不同的打印方向（垂直和水平）以及在不同时长（0天、24天和189天）下暴露于人工汗液的情况。结果表明，尼龙12适用于短期（24天）浸泡，垂直和水平方向的吸收能量分别为78焦耳和64焦耳，而聚碳酸酯（PC）适用于长期浸泡（189天），垂直和水平方向的吸收能量分别为66焦耳和78焦耳。总体而言，考虑到短期和长期暴露于生理和环境条件，这些发现有助于更好地理解这些材料在生物医学应用中的适用性。
