Design and manufacturing of a 3D-printed field-driven metamaterial pelvic bone plate

Conventional pelvic bone plates have inherent limitations, including poor anatomical matching, unsatisfactory mechanical performance, excessive weight, and inadequate biocompatibility. This study aims to develop a personalized pelvic bone plate by integrating field-driven metamaterial design with three-dimensional (3D) printing. The methodology involves computed tomography (CT) and Mimics software for reconstruction of the pelvic model, finite element simulation for topology optimization, and 3D printing for direct fabrication of the designed plate. The results demonstrate that the bone plate reconstructed from the pelvic fracture surface exhibited high anatomical fit. After topology optimization, the deformation of the bone plate increased by approximately 15%, accompanied by uniform stress distribution without obvious stress concentration. For the field-driven porous bone plate, the relative density of the porous structure increased with increasing local stress. The partially porous bone plate achieved a 30.77 % weight reduction while combining the favorable mechanical properties of solid plates with the biological potential of porous architectures. The 3D-printed personalized bone plate exhibited excellent forming quality, surface finish, and assembly fit. This study demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed structural design and 3D printing process, providing theoretical support and technical references for the subsequent development of high-performance personalized pelvic bone plates.