Fig. 3: Schematic of the sheep-specific artificial bone design and manufacturing process for reconstructing segmental bone defects of the mandible.

CBCT scans of the sheep mandible were acquired. Virtual surgical planning (VSP) was performed to define each mandibular defect and design the sheep-specific LS-PEK frame and cutting guides. Biomechanical optimization using numerical modelling was performed. The LS-PEK frame and scaffold was manufactured using laser sintering (LS), followed by post-processing, dry ice blasting, dimensional verification, heat toughening, plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) treatment, and heat sterilisation. In parallel, a βTCP lattice was 3D-printed, furnace sintered, infused with ADSC-laden GelMA, and cultured for ADSC expansion and osteogenic differentiation. Crosslinking of GelMA was performed using 405 nm UV light to stabilize the cell-hydrogel construct. The βTCP lattice was placed in the PIII-treated LS-PEK frame at the time of surgical implantation into the mandibular defect and secured with a LS-PEK crossbar. Created in BioRender. Crook, J. (https://BioRender.com/m66k2rs).