Loss of Mass and Surface Topography in 3-Dimensional-Printed Solid Titanium Cages Upon Impaction: An In Vitro Model

Objective There is increased use of 3-dimensional (3D)-printing for manufacturing of interbody cages to create microscale surface features that promote bone formation. Those features may be vulnerable to abrasion and/or delamination during cage impaction. Our objective was to quantify loss of mass a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tien Tran, Ian M Singleton, Victor Ungurean Jr, Andrea Rowland, Anna Martin, Oluwatodimu Richard Raji, Dimitriy G. Kondrashov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Korean Spinal Neurosurgery Society 2025-03-01
Series:Neurospine
Subjects:
Online Access:http://e-neurospine.org/upload/pdf/ns-2448990-495.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849739570739937280
author Tien Tran
Ian M Singleton
Victor Ungurean Jr
Andrea Rowland
Anna Martin
Oluwatodimu Richard Raji
Dimitriy G. Kondrashov
author_facet Tien Tran
Ian M Singleton
Victor Ungurean Jr
Andrea Rowland
Anna Martin
Oluwatodimu Richard Raji
Dimitriy G. Kondrashov
author_sort Tien Tran
collection DOAJ
description Objective There is increased use of 3-dimensional (3D)-printing for manufacturing of interbody cages to create microscale surface features that promote bone formation. Those features may be vulnerable to abrasion and/or delamination during cage impaction. Our objective was to quantify loss of mass and changes in surface topography of 3D-printed titanium interbody cages due to surgical impaction. Methods Eight surfaces of four 3D-printed titanium modular interbody fusion cages were tested. The cages were impacted into the Sawbones model with compression preload of either 200N or 400N using a guided 1-lb (0.45 kg) drop weight. Mass and surface roughness parameters of each endplate were recorded and compared for differences. Results Significant weight loss was observed for the superior endplate group and for both 200N and 400N preloads. For pooled data comparison, significant postimpaction decreases were observed for mean roughness, root-mean-squared roughness, mean roughness depth, and total height of roughness profile. No significant differences were observed for profile skewness and kurtosis. There were significant changes in almost all roughness parameters in the anterior region of the cage postimpaction with significant changes in 2 out of 6 parameters in the middle, posterior, and central regions postimpaction. Conclusion Three-dimensional-printed titanium interbody fusion cages underwent loss of mass and alteration in surface topography during benchtop testing replicating physiologic conditions. There was an endplate- and region-specific postimpaction change in roughness parameters. The anterior surface experienced the largest change in surface parameters postimpaction. Our results have implications for future cage design and pre-approval testing of 3D-printed implants.
format Article
id doaj-art-c1c88f91ad1a4c84af4e8fa8c6d4c45b
institution DOAJ
issn 2586-6583
2586-6591
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Korean Spinal Neurosurgery Society
record_format Article
series Neurospine
spelling doaj-art-c1c88f91ad1a4c84af4e8fa8c6d4c45b2025-08-20T03:06:14ZengKorean Spinal Neurosurgery SocietyNeurospine2586-65832586-65912025-03-0122117318410.14245/ns.2448990.4951674Loss of Mass and Surface Topography in 3-Dimensional-Printed Solid Titanium Cages Upon Impaction: An In Vitro ModelTien Tran0Ian M Singleton1Victor Ungurean Jr2Andrea Rowland3Anna Martin4Oluwatodimu Richard Raji5Dimitriy G. Kondrashov6 The Taylor Collaboration, San Francisco, CA, USA San Francisco Orthopaedic Residency Program, San Francisco, CA, USA The Taylor Collaboration, San Francisco, CA, USA San Francisco Orthopaedic Residency Program, San Francisco, CA, USA San Francisco Orthopaedic Residency Program, San Francisco, CA, USA The Taylor Collaboration, San Francisco, CA, USA San Francisco Orthopaedic Residency Program, San Francisco, CA, USAObjective There is increased use of 3-dimensional (3D)-printing for manufacturing of interbody cages to create microscale surface features that promote bone formation. Those features may be vulnerable to abrasion and/or delamination during cage impaction. Our objective was to quantify loss of mass and changes in surface topography of 3D-printed titanium interbody cages due to surgical impaction. Methods Eight surfaces of four 3D-printed titanium modular interbody fusion cages were tested. The cages were impacted into the Sawbones model with compression preload of either 200N or 400N using a guided 1-lb (0.45 kg) drop weight. Mass and surface roughness parameters of each endplate were recorded and compared for differences. Results Significant weight loss was observed for the superior endplate group and for both 200N and 400N preloads. For pooled data comparison, significant postimpaction decreases were observed for mean roughness, root-mean-squared roughness, mean roughness depth, and total height of roughness profile. No significant differences were observed for profile skewness and kurtosis. There were significant changes in almost all roughness parameters in the anterior region of the cage postimpaction with significant changes in 2 out of 6 parameters in the middle, posterior, and central regions postimpaction. Conclusion Three-dimensional-printed titanium interbody fusion cages underwent loss of mass and alteration in surface topography during benchtop testing replicating physiologic conditions. There was an endplate- and region-specific postimpaction change in roughness parameters. The anterior surface experienced the largest change in surface parameters postimpaction. Our results have implications for future cage design and pre-approval testing of 3D-printed implants.http://e-neurospine.org/upload/pdf/ns-2448990-495.pdfinterbody cageanterior lumbar interbody fusionthree-dimensional-printed titaniumsurface topographyroughnessimplant design
spellingShingle Tien Tran
Ian M Singleton
Victor Ungurean Jr
Andrea Rowland
Anna Martin
Oluwatodimu Richard Raji
Dimitriy G. Kondrashov
Loss of Mass and Surface Topography in 3-Dimensional-Printed Solid Titanium Cages Upon Impaction: An In Vitro Model
Neurospine
interbody cage
anterior lumbar interbody fusion
three-dimensional-printed titanium
surface topography
roughness
implant design
title Loss of Mass and Surface Topography in 3-Dimensional-Printed Solid Titanium Cages Upon Impaction: An In Vitro Model
title_full Loss of Mass and Surface Topography in 3-Dimensional-Printed Solid Titanium Cages Upon Impaction: An In Vitro Model
title_fullStr Loss of Mass and Surface Topography in 3-Dimensional-Printed Solid Titanium Cages Upon Impaction: An In Vitro Model
title_full_unstemmed Loss of Mass and Surface Topography in 3-Dimensional-Printed Solid Titanium Cages Upon Impaction: An In Vitro Model
title_short Loss of Mass and Surface Topography in 3-Dimensional-Printed Solid Titanium Cages Upon Impaction: An In Vitro Model
title_sort loss of mass and surface topography in 3 dimensional printed solid titanium cages upon impaction an in vitro model
topic interbody cage
anterior lumbar interbody fusion
three-dimensional-printed titanium
surface topography
roughness
implant design
url http://e-neurospine.org/upload/pdf/ns-2448990-495.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT tientran lossofmassandsurfacetopographyin3dimensionalprintedsolidtitaniumcagesuponimpactionaninvitromodel
AT ianmsingleton lossofmassandsurfacetopographyin3dimensionalprintedsolidtitaniumcagesuponimpactionaninvitromodel
AT victorungureanjr lossofmassandsurfacetopographyin3dimensionalprintedsolidtitaniumcagesuponimpactionaninvitromodel
AT andrearowland lossofmassandsurfacetopographyin3dimensionalprintedsolidtitaniumcagesuponimpactionaninvitromodel
AT annamartin lossofmassandsurfacetopographyin3dimensionalprintedsolidtitaniumcagesuponimpactionaninvitromodel
AT oluwatodimurichardraji lossofmassandsurfacetopographyin3dimensionalprintedsolidtitaniumcagesuponimpactionaninvitromodel
AT dimitriygkondrashov lossofmassandsurfacetopographyin3dimensionalprintedsolidtitaniumcagesuponimpactionaninvitromodel