Design and optimization of a novel patient-specific subperiosteal implant additively manufactured in yttria-stabilized zirconia

Objective

To design a patient-specific subperiosteal implant for a severely atrophic maxillary ridge using yttria-stabilized additively manufactured zirconia (3YSZ) and evaluate its material properties by applying topology optimization (TO) to replace bulk material with a lattice structure.

Materials

A contrast-based segmented skull model from anonymized computed tomography data of a patient was used for the initial anatomical design of the implant for the atrophic maxillary ridge. The implant underwent finite element analysis (FEA) and TO under different occlusal load-bearing conditions. The resulting implant designs, in bulk material and lattice, were evaluated via in-silico tensile tests and 3D printed.

Results

The workflow produced two patient-specific subperiosteal designs: a) an anatomically precise bulk implant, b) a TO lattice implant. In-silico tensile tests revealed that the Young’s modulus of yttria-stabilized zirconia is 205 GPa for the bulk material and 83.3 GPa for the lattice. Maximum principal stresses in the implant were 61.14 MPa in bulk material and 278.63 MPa in lattice, both tolerable, indicating the redesigned implant can withstand occlusal forces of 125–250 N per abutment. Furthermore, TO achieved a 13.10 % mass reduction and 208.71 % increased surface area, suggesting improved osteointegration potential.

Significance

The study demonstrates the planning and optimization of ceramic implant topology. A further iteration of the implant was successfully implanted in a patient-named use case, employing the same fabrication process and parameters.