Abstract
Recent developments in biodegradable implant technology have expanded its use in several medical fields, such as orthopedics, cardiology, dentistry, and tissue engineering. Degradable bone-fixing implants have shown favorable results among others. Degradable implants, consisting of a plate and screws, provide the advantage of completely degrading after efficaciously supporting the broken bone for the required duration. They may even provide nutrients that accelerate the healing process while ensuring sufficient mechanical stability. Magnesium alloys are being considered by researchers as promising options for bone implants due to their natural degradability, good biocompatibility, and ability to lower the chances of long-term complications. The rapid corrosion rate and inferior mechanical properties of magnesium relative to non-biodegradable materials are significant challenges in their clinical usage as implant material. This leads to a loss of structural strength before the broken bone completely heals. Hence This article mainly concentrates on the design of a biodegradable implant plate for a femoral shaft fracture in the walking cycle, considering the plate's dimension, number of screws, biodegradation rate, and sufficient mechanical stability. Using the results of the numerical analyses, the safe zone of the implant plate design is determined based on the implant plate stress and the total displacement of the femur bone. Then, the optimum topology of the plate and appropriate number of screws are determined.