Monomer transfer moulding and rapid prototyping methods for fibre reinforced thermoplastics for medical applications

The development of biodegradable materials for surgical applications is a g rowing area, especially in the area of fracture repair. A fully biodegradab le composite has been developed for the manufacture of surgical implants ta ilored to the patient's injury. This composite consists of a poly-epsilon - caprolactone matrix and a biodegradable glass fibre reinforcement. This pap er describes two approaches to the manufacture of such implants using geome tries derived from patient scan data: a variant of structural reaction inje ction moulding or resin transfer moulding, and a rapid prototyping method b ased upon material deposition modelling. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.