title: Unit cell-based computer-aided manufacturing system for tissue engineering.
abstract: Scaffolds play an important role in the regeneration of artificial tissues or organs. A scaffold is a porous structure with a micro-scale inner architecture in the range of several to several hundreds of micrometers. Therefore, computer-aided construction of scaffolds should provide sophisticated functionality for porous structure design and a tool path generation strategy that can achieve micro-scale architecture. In this study, a new unit cell-based computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) system was developed for the automated design and fabrication of a porous structure with micro-scale inner architecture that can be applied to composite tissue regeneration. The CAM system was developed by first defining a data structure for the computing process of a unit cell representing a single pore structure. Next, an algorithm and software were developed and applied to construct porous structures with a single or multiple pore design using solid freeform fabrication technology and a 3D tooth/spine computer-aided design model. We showed that this system is quite feasible for the design and fabrication of a scaffold for tissue engineering.
authors.affiliation: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA.
authors.forename: Hyun-Wook
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Jeong Hun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Tae-Yun
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Young-Joon
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Seol
authors.forename: Dong-Woo
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D006801:Humans; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D016062:Porosity; D013131:Spine / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D013499:Surface Properties; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology