Design and Analysis of Artificial IVD by 3D Printing Technology Using Functionally Graded Materials

The Artificial Intervertebral Disc (IVD) is considered one of the modern medical developments aimed at treating some problems and diseases associated with the spine. The artificial intervertebral disc restores or improves the spine's function. It is also considered an emergency surgical option to help relieve pain and reduce the need for traditional spinal fixation operations. PLA is an easy-to-print polymer capable of achieving biocompatibility, making it suitable for medical and biomedical applications. This study studied porous functionally graded materials by choosing (PLA +) and manufacturing them with a three-dimensional printer with FDM technology to design artificial intervertebral discs for humans. For the reason that the artificial intervertebral disc in the L4-L5 segment is greatly affected by the tooth of overweight people, the intervertebral disc was discussed in terms of compressive stresses of different forces 2 KN, 4.75 KN, max load 80 KN experimentally, and 31 cases were studied with a porous gradient with the help of ANSYS22 R2 with the same forces in one case and another with the addition of the moment effect, 7.5 N. m with the same forces and the last case only moment. The compression test results showed the possibility of using porous compositions to reduce the change of the surface area of the disk artificial vertebra if it is subjected to high or medium loads. In the best sample model with a porous gradient of 8 layers, the first and last layers are sold, while the inner layers are porous with a porosity of 0.1. This is very important for the development of effective artificial intervertebral discs capable of maintaining the permanence of their work and reducing friction in the future by injecting them with a non-toxic medical gelatin substance and other medical specifications inside the pores and, thus, behavior similar to a human disc and at the same time a solution to back pain problems and with less guarantee than other methods manufactured for the same artificial intervertebral disc.