Abstract
Orthopedic implants are widely used to fix a bone or to replace the articulating surface of a joint. Implant surgeries are performed only by highly specialized and trained surgeons. It is quite important to develop a technique that can bond bone and implant materials directly. Laser processing with high energy density is an effective tool for bonding different materials in a very short time with a high positional accuracy. In this study, to investigate the possibility of laser bonding living bones and bioceramics, an in-vitro laser processing technique was developed for bonding a bovine cortical bone specimen with a ceramics composed of synthetic tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-glass (TG ceramics). By irradiating the surface of the bone specimen with a laser beam, a microporous foam-like substance was generated that bonded the bone specimen with the TG ceramics in a manner similar to spot welding. The bonding strength was defined as the shear stress between the interface of the bone specimen and the ceramics specimen. It was found that the strength of the bond increased with an increase in the duration of laser irradiation.
