US Patent 11135771 System and method of manufacturing a medical implant

A system and method for forming a medical implant using a printing device. The printing device includes a print head having a heated nozzle, a heated build plate for receiving the printed material thereon, and a reflective plate having an active heater. A method for forming a medical device includes extruding a printing material by contiguous deposition to form a porous object having a lattice-like structure. The medical device, such as a spinal implant, may have interconnected pores and different regions, each having a different porosity for encouraging bone growth therein. The printed medical implant may be designed to be patient-specific, customized, and printed on-demand.