A custom-made distal humerus plate fabricated by selective laser melting

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the mechanical performance of custom 3D-printed titanium plates in the treatment of distal humerus fractures. Rigidity of four plating configurations were investigated by finite element analysis. The results reveal that implementation of custom designs with minimal screw holes, lateral-medial linking screw and lateral brim could significantly improve stiffness and consequently leads to better biomechanical stability as compared to standard osteosynthesis design. Biomechanical testing was also performed to validate practical usability. The results confirm that newly designed custom plates fabricated by selective laser melting is a possible alternative for the treatment of distal humerus fracture.

Keywords:

• Distal humerus fracture
• 3D printing
• custom-made plate
• finite element analysis
• biomechanics

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to express their gratitude to Department of Orthopedics, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University for access to biomechanical testing facility. The authors would also like to acknowledge in-kind material support and access to 3D printing facility from Meticuly Co., Ltd., Thailand.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was financially supported by Chulalongkorn Academic Advancement into its 2nd Century Project, Phase 2, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.