Medical innovations and patient expectations are pushing healthcare toward personalized medicine. In orthopedics, the concept of patient-specific implants could be economically realized with the use of additive manufacturing. Knee and hip replacements are some of the most common musculoskeletal procedures performed in the United States. Joint replacement implants are typically offered in standard sizes and geometries. The mass customization of theses prostheses, however, can improve patient outcomes and reduce medical costs. Mass customization is not economically feasible with traditional manufacturing methods because of the high fixed tooling costs for each geometry. The freedom of design offered by additive manufacturing presents a viable production alternative for unique personal geometry. The objective of this paper is to develop two new analytic models that can be used to investigate a complex additive manufacturing supply chain. The focus of the model is to provide planning tools and a methodology for the direct production of customized orthopedic implants using electron beam melting, an additive manufacturing technology. First, a production model for an additive manufacturing-based system is created. Next, resource planning for a single customized implant system is performed using a simulation model. A queuing model is developed for rapid systems analysis. The staffing requirement predictions of the two models align closely for production of a singular, customized implant. A detailed systems analysis of an additive manufacturing supply chain is conducted to illustrate the use of these models. The queueing model is analytically tractable, so it is extended to describe the production of standard and customized versions of multiple implant families.

医疗创新和患者期望正在推动医疗保健走向个性化医疗。在骨科领域，通过使用增材制造，可以经济地实现患者特定植入物的概念。膝关节和髋关节置换术是美国最常见的一些肌肉骨骼手术。关节置换植入物通常以标准尺寸和几何形状提供。然而，这些假肢的大规模定制可以改善患者的治疗效果并降低医疗成本。由于每种几何形状的固定工具成本很高，因此使用传统制造方法在经济上不可行大规模定制。增材制造提供的设计自由为独特的个人几何形状提供了可行的生产替代方案。本文的目的是开发两种新的分析模型，可用于研究复杂的增材制造供应链。该模型的重点是为使用电子束熔化（一种增材制造技术）直接生产定制骨科植入物提供规划工具和方法。首先，创建基于增材制造的系统的生产模型。接下来，使用模拟模型执行单个定制植入系统的资源规划。排队模型是为快速系统分析而开发的。两种模型的人员配备需求预测密切相关，以生产单一的、定制的植入物。对增材制造供应链进行了详细的系统分析，以说明这些模型的使用。