goal-seek-porosity-requirements

Goal Seeking (GS) exists to automate engineering calculations by adjusting a single variable based on defined geometry to obtain a target value. An example of this can be applied to a titanium mesh (Ti-mesh) for the periodontal procedure of Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR). In GBR, meshes need to be adequately porous to allow tissue in-growth for healing, however, must also be structurally sound and minimally deflect as a fully/partially collapsed mesh can lead to complications. In this example, the design objective can be based on the total porous area created by the holes. A pattern of the porous structure has been arbitrarily applied to the model as a basis for GS. The sum of the porous area has been found to be 41.6mm2. In this case, optimal bone growth has been found to occur when total porous area is 84mm2. In addition to adequate open-porous area it is desirable to minimise deflection of the Ti-mesh to prevent encroachment on the healing tissue underneath the mesh whilst also maintaining a low part volume as bulky apparatus can prevent normal uses of the mouth. Repeated optimisations are performed to ensure the optimal result is obtained. After three optimisations, the mesh depth is increased to 0.19mm producing a deflection of 0.04mm. The optimised solution allows deflection to be well below defined limits that would affect proper healing.