Novel real function based method to construct heterogeneous porous scaffolds and additive manufacturing for use in medical engineering.

Heterogeneous porous scaffolds have important applications in biomedical engineering, as they can mimic the structures of natural tissues to achieve the corresponding properties. Here, we introduce a new and easy to implement real function based method for constructing complex, heterogeneous porous structures, including hybrid structures, stochastic structures, functionally gradient structures, and multi-scale structures, or their combinations (e.g., hybrid multi-scale structures). Based on micro-CT data, a femur-mimetic structure with gradient morphology was constructed using our method and fabricated using stereolithography. Results showed that our method could generate gradient porosity or gradient specific surfaces and be sufficiently flexible for use with micro-CT data and additive manufacturing (AM) techniques.