Can the dazzling progress of artificial intelligence help to better repair bones? This is the belief of a scientific team from the University of Urbana-Champaign (Illinois). For more than ten years, biomimetic materials such as Trabecular Metal (Zimmer Biomet) have been used for the installation of hip or knee prostheses. These materials imitate the spongy appearance of trabecular bone, present in particular at the ends of long bones. Researchers from Urbana-Champaign (Nature Communications) aim to use a machine learning (AI) algorithm to get even closer to the natural bone model. “We virtually produce a material whose disordered microstructures [des microblocs imprimés par imprimante 3D] fit adapting to mechanical constraints [des forces au niveau de l’os]. All of this facilitates tissue support for orthopedic restoration.” explains Shelly Zhang, director of the study and professor of civil and environmental engineering.
To achieve this result, these researchers were inspired by a previous study (ScienceAugust 2022) on the equally surprising and solid porous architecture of giant termite mounds. “This pioneering work made it possible to design irregular materials with constant material properties. In our work, we advance this concept by enabling the creation of a material whose optimized strength properties vary in space. Shelly Zhang continues. The authors illustrate their research with a theoretical application on a tibia, but acknowledge that they now need to engage with medical teams to refine the application possibilities of the computer model.
From Grenoble, Catherine Picart, director of the BioHealth unit (Inserm-CEA-UGA-CNRS), considers this work of great interest while her own laboratory is experimenting, with a 3D printer, with the creation of bioinspired scaffolds covered with a polymeric substance so that the bone can self-repair. “ Its computer modeling approach allows to analyze certain parameters such as architectural effects or interface constraints, which is very interesting for optimizing a material. she watches. However, it is a computer model and we are in virtual, therefore ideal, conditions. The question now remains how they will actually create this material. »
You have 42.51% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
