A process for producing a
ceramic composite having a
porous network. The process includes providing a photocurable
ceramic dispersion. The dispersion consists of a photocurable
polymer and a
ceramic composition. The surface of the dispersion is scanned with a
laser to cure the photocurable
polymer to produce a photocured
polymer / ceramic composition. The photocured composition useful as a polymer /
ceramic composite, or the polymer phase can be removed by heating to a first temperature that is sufficient to
burn out the photocured polymer. It is then heated to a second temperature that is higher than the first temperature and is sufficient to sinter the ceramic composition to produce a purely ceramic composition having a
porous network.Preferably and more specifically, the process uses a stereolithographic technique for
laser scanning. The process can form a high quality
orthopedic implant that dimensionally matches the
bone structure of a patient. The technique relies upon
laser photocuring a dense colloidal dispersion into a desired complex three-dimensional shape. The shape is obtained from a CAT scan file of a bone and is rendered into a CAD file that is readable by the
stereolithography instrument. Or the shape is obtained directly from a CAD file that is readable by the
stereolithography instrument.