The use of Rapid Prototyping to assist medical applications I. Gibson, L.K. Cheung, S.P. Chow, W.L. Cheung, S.L. Beh, M. Savalani, S.H. Lee

Outline of talk  Discuss the general process of medical RP  Consider a range of applications in the medical field  Discuss the impact on RP technology development  Conclude

Medical modeling  Also referred to as biomodeling or stereomodeling  Construction of patient data in a physical form  Integration of medical reverse engineering with CADCAM

Generalised procedure for creating medical models.STL File Medical Software (e.g. Mimics, 3D Doctor) RP System Finished RP Model Post Processing (E.g. Cleaning, Curing, removing supports) Medical Imaging Data Capture (e.g. CT data, 3D ultrasound) CT / MRI Scan CAD (Optional)

Medical modeling process  CT/MRI data most common methods used –Resolution not high –Dosage levels and processing time/cost  Not many dedicated software conversion packages  Few medical modeling users – why?

Oral and maxillofacial surgery

 Many such cases now exist  Starting to become routine for complex cases  Reductions in surgical times  Eases planning  Improves cosmetic appearance

Distraction osteogenesis

 Mainly used for planning and rehearsal  Fixation sites difficult to locate  Model used as template for customising distraction device  Different treatments can be explored  Procedures carried out over long periods of many months

Artificial finger joint design

 RP used as a backup process  Typical product development process  Models made to illustrate design features and alternatives  Also used to design and test surgical implements and procedures  Helpful in integrating anatomical features with engineering designs

Forensic pathology

 Numerous potential applications  Making models prevents destruction of evidence  Models provide opportunities to test hypotheses  Models can be used in court to demonstrate hypotheses

Tissue engineering

 Bony tissues are 3D constructions  Cells require a template or scaffold to provide this structure  RP techniques ideal for constructing templates  However, templates should also be heterogeneous and provide capacity for multiple materials

Issues concerning RP technology choice  Speed – RP still slow for many applications  Cost – every case is a custom case  Accuracy – not a significant problem for most medical cases  Materials – must withstand harsh handling  Ease of use – new skills required

Conclusions  RP ideal for numerous medical applications  However, specification of RP technology is different from conventional applications for RP  Many medical applications on the cutting edge