End-to-end multidisciplinary optimal design for improved personalized bioactive glass/ceramic bone substitute implants

Project Information

REBONE

Grant agreement ID: 101119884

DOI

10.3030/101119884

EC signature date 6 July 2023

Start date 1 January 2024

End date 31 December 2027

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 2 512 687,80

Coordinated by

POLITECNICO DI MILANO
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - REBONE (End-to-end multidisciplinary optimal design for improved personalized bioactive glass/ceramic bone substitute implants)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Large bone defects caused by trauma, disease, or ageing represent a growing clinical challenge in Europe, particularly in an ageing population. Current treatments heavily rely on bone grafts taken from the patient or donors, which are limited in availability and may cause complications. At the same time, conventional off-the-shelf implants often fail to match the patient’s specific anatomy and mechanical needs, leading to poor integration or long-term failure.
ReBone addresses these challenges by developing a new end-to-end approach for personalized bone substitute implants made of bioactive glass and ceramic materials. The project brings together materials science, biomechanics, biology, computational modelling, and clinical planning to design implants that are not only patient-specific in shape, but also tailored in their internal structure, mechanical behaviour, and biological performance.
ReBone’s overall objective is to create a predictive and integrated design workflow, starting from clinical imaging data and ending with optimized, manufacturable, and biologically validated bone implants, while training ten doctoral candidates with multidisciplinary approaches and intersectoral interactions. By combining advanced 3D printing technologies, in-silico simulations, and realistic laboratory testing, ReBone aims to reduce trial-and-error in implant design and accelerate translation toward safer and more effective treatments. In the longer term, this approach can reduce revision surgeries, improve patient recovery, and support EU priorities in personalised medicine, advanced manufacturing, and sustainable healthcare innovation.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the first two years of the project, the ReBone team - comprising 10 doctoral researchers and a broad consortium of 15 partners from 8 countries - defined the core scientific components of its integrated workflow. New bioactive glass and ceramic materials were synthesised and characterised, and their suitability for high-resolution 3D printing was demonstrated through systematic optimisation of printing and thermal post-processing parameters. These efforts enabled the production of complex porous scaffolds with controlled geometry and reproducible quality.

In parallel, advanced computational tools were developed to link clinical images with implant design. Bone imaging data were analysed to understand site-specific bone structure, and finite-element models were created to study how different scaffold designs interact mechanically with surrounding bone. Parametric studies identified how geometry, porosity, and material stiffness influence mechanical stability, fluid transport, and tissue regeneration. Mixed-reality tools were also initiated to support surgical planning and visualisation.

Finally, extensive in-vitro testing and mechano-biological studies were performed to validate the materials and designs. Mechanical tests quantified the strength and fracture behaviour of printed ceramics, while advanced 3D cell and tissue models were developed to study how cells respond to scaffold architecture under realistic conditions. Together, these activities provided the first experimental validation of the ReBone design concepts and generated data for refining predictive models.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

ReBone goes beyond the current state of the art by integrating material development, biological testing, and computational optimisation into a single coherent workflow. Unlike conventional implant design - which often considers geometry, mechanics, and biology separately - ReBone demonstrates how these aspects can be jointly optimised using predictive models supported by experimental evidence.
Key advances include the identification of scaffold designs that better preserve physiological load transfer, reducing harmful stress shielding, and the development of realistic in-vitro models that capture early stages of bone healing. The project also shows how micro-architecture and material stiffness can be tuned to balance mechanical reliability with biological performance.
To support wider adoption, the results highlight the need for larger-scale validation, stronger alignment with regulatory frameworks, and closer collaboration with industry to ensure manufacturability and standardisation. These aspects are being addressed within the project, with the aim of delivering by its conclusion a solid foundation for future clinical translation, further research, and potential commercialisation of personalised bone implants.

ReBone Induction and Mid-Term Meeting, Milan 11-12/02/2025