| dc.description.abstract | Patients suffering from temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders have difficulties
performing trivial activities such as chewing, yawning, and even laughing. In severe cases, the
pain is unbearable and clinical care is required. When non- or minimally invasive treatments fall
short to resolve the problem, total joint replacements with permanent alloplastic implants are
recommended by surgeons. However, recent advances in tissue engineering research have
highlighted the potential of using bioengineered implants over their traditional alloplastic
counterparts.
In this study, the design and fabrication processes of a patient-fitted hybrid biodegradable
TMJ implant are studied, focusing on the mitigation of complications and limitations of
conventional implants. The proposed implant design incorporates both bone and cartilage
components of the TMJ in a single heterogeneous unit and is affixed to the ramus of the mandible.
By including microporous features in the condylar head of the implant, we seek to increase
the rate of cell infiltration via capillary forces in the scaffolding structures and reinforce the bond
between the bone and the cartilage regions so as to obtain a faster and more effective regeneration
of the targeted tissues. Statistical design of experiments is adopted to identify the best-performing
features that are ultimately implemented into the final design of the full-size TMJ implant. Lastly,
techniques for incorporating these microarchitectural features and improving the fabrication
process are presented and discussed. | en_US |
