FibreTuff is a composite material that has bone-like properties. It is possible to drill the material and set screws with excellent screw retention. The material has a tensile strength similar to nylon (PA 11 or 12). This makes the material ideal for model printing.
FibreTuff Filament
The material is biocompatible. It has passed the USP Class VI testing. This includes
- Acute systemic toxicity test; a systemic injection test using different types of extracts. Measures toxicity and irritation
- Intracutaneous injection test with different extracts. Measures toxicity and local irritation in subdermal tissue
- Implementation of a test strip for several days. Measures infection and irritation in muscular tissue.
FibreTuff models can be autoclaved; therefore, the models can be used in the OR. The biocompatibility of the material and the possibility of sterilization make the material useful for surgical guide printing.
Vosfox Medical services
At Vosfox Medical, we can print your models, surgical guides or phantoms for you. FibreTuff is challenging material, but if you are up for it, we will sell you the filament, and you can print it yourself. The material is also available in powder form for SLS printing. Please inquire about delivery time. Contact us for more information.
We regularly post on nice prints we made with the FibreTuff material, so check our posts
Radiopacity
With a non-toxic barium coating, the bone can be made bone-like radiopacity, making the material suitable as phantom material. A 3D-printed FibreTuff can show device location, bone bridging and bioactive performance with a value of 3000 HU (Houndsfield Units).
Dr Mike Hartman, a craniomaxillofacial surgeon at Hartman Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, has printed FibreTuff to produce anatomical bone-like models for CT scans. His work confirms that FibreTuff meets the standards set by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) per the November 2018 paper.
