Research landscape of 3D printing in bone regeneration and bone repair: A bibliometric and visualized analysis from 2012 to 2022

Abstract

Three-dimensional printing (3DP) is a popular manufacturing technique with versatile potential for materials processing in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. In particular, the repair and regeneration of significant bone defects remain as substantial clinical challenges that require biomaterial implants to maintain mechanical strength and porosity, which may be realized using 3DP. The rapid progress in 3DP development in the past decade warrants a bibliometric analysis to gain insights into its applications in bone tissue engineering (BTE). Here, we performed a comparative study using bibliometric methods for 3DP in bone repair and regeneration. A total of 2,025 articles were included, and the results showed an increase in the number of publications and relative research interest on 3DP annually worldwide. China was the leader in international cooperation in this field and also the largest contributor to the number of citations. The majority of articles in this field were published in the journal Biofabrication. Chen Y was the author who made the highest contribution to the included studies. The keywords included in the publications were mainly related to BTE and regenerative medicine (including “3DP techniques,” “3DP materials,” “bone regeneration strategies,” and “bone disease therapeutics”) for bone regeneration and repair. This bibliometric and visualized analysis provides significant insights into the historical development of 3DP in BTE from 2012 to 2022, which will be beneficial for scientists to conduct further investigations into this dynamic field.