This 2006 narrative review from Biomaterials systematically catalogues every known method for fabricating porous metallic scaffolds for orthopedic implants — from sintered powder metallurgy to chemical vapour deposition and rapid prototyping — and evaluates each technique's ability to control pore size, distribution, interconnectivity, and mechanical properties relevant to bone ingrowth and stress shielding reduction.
When evaluating cementless implant designs or selecting between coating types, the fabrication method dictates the porosity ceiling and fatigue tradeoff: sintered bead/fibre coatings cap at 30–50% porosity and carry a ~3-fold fatigue penalty, while CVD trabecular tantalum achieves 75–85% porosity with superior ductility — understand these engineering constraints to reason about why certain implant platforms succeed or fail in revision scenarios where bone stock is poor.
This 2006 narrative review from Biomaterials systematically catalogues every known method for fabricating porous metallic scaffolds for orthopedic implants — from sintered powder metallurgy to chemical vapour deposition and rapid prototyping — and evaluates each technique's ability to control pore size, distribution, interconnectivity, and mechanical properties relevant to bone ingrowth and stress shielding reduction.
When evaluating cementless implant designs or selecting between coating types, the fabrication method dictates the porosity ceiling and fatigue tradeoff: sintered bead/fibre coatings cap at 30–50% porosity and carry a ~3-fold fatigue penalty, while CVD trabecular tantalum achieves 75–85% porosity with superior ductility — understand these engineering constraints to reason about why certain implant platforms succeed or fail in revision scenarios where bone stock is poor.