AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB025270257
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Early Access

Integrating machine learning and finite element simulation for interpretable prediction of 3D-printed bone scaffold mechanics

Rixiang Quan1 Fengyuan Liu1* Sergio Cantero Chinchilla1
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1 University of Bristol, United Kingdom.
Received: 30 June 2025 | Accepted: 2 September 2025 | Published online: 2 September 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

An integrated framework combining Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) is presented to enhance the prediction and design of bioprinted scaffolds. By leveraging the strengths of data-driven learning and physics-based simulations, the hybrid approach (ANN + FEA) achieves superior predictive accuracy and generalization compared to standalone approaches. Validation against experimental results demonstrates that a single ANN model yields a relative error of 5.17% when predicting scaffold Young’s modulus. Incorporating FEA simulation based on ANN-predicted geometry and material properties reduces the relative error to 4.72%, representing an 8.6% improvement. The framework also enables the accurate simulation for unseen combinations of printing parameters located far from the experimental data manifold, reducing prediction errors from 14.2% (ANN-only) to 5.7% (hybrid). By integrating predictive modeling, simulation, and data augmentation, this approach offers an efficient pathway for optimizing scaffold designs and accelerating the development of biomaterials with tailored mechanical performance.

Keywords
3D printing
Bone scaffold
Finite element analysis
Artificial neural network
Data augmentation
Funding
This work was supported by EPSRC IAA 2022-26 (EP/X525674/1).
Conflict of interest
Fengyuan Liu serves as the Editorial Board Member of the journal, but did not in any way involve in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. Other authors declare they have no competing interests
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing