Composite artificial bone

Abstract

An artificial bone which is easy to bond to a living bone and has a mechanical property approximate to that of a living bone is disclosed. The artificial bone comprises: a dense part made of titanium or a titanium alloy, in the shape of a frame that is approximate to a part of an outer face of a living bone, having a density of 95% or more; and a porous part made of sintered particles of titanium or a titanium alloy having the same or different composition as the titanium alloy for the dense part, in the shape approximate to the remaining part of the living bone, having a porosity of 40% or more, the dense part and the particles of the porous part being sintered to each other at an interface between the dense part and the porous part.

1 - 6 . (canceled) 
   
   
       7 . A method of producing an artificial bone, the method comprising the steps of:
 preparing a die having an inner face that is complementary with a living bone;   placing a shaped body (a) of titanium or a titanium alloy powder not containing a pore forming agent, having a frame shape that is approximate with a part of an outer face of the living bone, in the die ; charging the remaining space of the die with a mixture containing titanium or a titanium alloy powder and a pore forming agent ; pressure-molding the mixture, to obtain a shaped body (b) and combine the shaped body (b) with the shaped body (a) ; and calcining the combined body.   
   
   
       8 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the part of the outer face of the living bone is a part including a corner, an edge line or a surface of the living bone. 
   
   
       9 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the shaped body (a) has a sharp projection on one end face. 
   
   
       10 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein either one or both of the shaped body (a) and the shaped body (b) contain an organic binder. 
   
   
       11 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the organic binder is composed of 0 to 50 vol % of polyacetal, 0 to 50 vol % of polypropylene and 50 to 70 vol % of waxes. 
   
   
       12 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the pressure molding is conducted at a pressure of 20 to 100 MPa. 
   
   
       13 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the pore forming agent contained in the mixture is ammonium hydrogen carbonate. 
   
   
       14 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the pore forming agent contained in the mixture has a particle size adjusted to 500 to 1500 μm by means of a sieve.