The usually employed implants for restoration of skull defects are polymeric and metallic, successfully fulfilling protective and aesthetic functions; nevertheless, implant osseointegration is not achieved with these materials. In some cases, like cranial restoration in paediatric orthopaedics, resorption and osseointegration of the implant is strongly desired for normal body growth. One approach consists of using bioactive ceramics, such as silicate bioactive glass. However, traditional casting in graphite moulds employed for glass parts production is only useful for basic shapes and cannot produce warped shape implants. Instead, we propose the application of rapid prototyping based on laser cladding to produce bioactive glass implants for low load bearing purposes. This laser-assisted technique has unique advantages for implant manufacture, like geometry tailored to patient, reduced production time and real-time regulation of the implant composition. In this work the study of bioactive glass processing by this technique was carried out. The obtained results were characterized; the relationships between the processing parameters and the obtained properties were studied, in addition to the bioactivity assessment of the obtained implants.
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