Adoption of additive manufacturing in oral and maxillofacial surgery among university and non-university hospitals in Sweden: findings from a nationwide survey

Abstract

Purpose Additive manufacturing (AM) is an innovative printing technology that can manufacture 3-dimensional solid objects by adding layers of material from model data. AM in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) provides several clinical applications such as surgical guides and implants. However, the adoption of AM in OMFS is not well covered. The purpose was to study the adoption of AM in OMFS in university and non-university hospitals in Sweden. Three research questions were addressed: What is the degree of using AM solutions in university and non-university hospitals?; What are AM solutions used?; How are the AM solutions accessed (production mode) in university hospitals and non-university hospitals? Methods A survey was distributed to OMF surgeons in Sweden. The questionnaire consisted of 16 questions. Data were analyzed through descriptive and content analysis. Results A total of 14 university and non-university hospitals were captured. All 14 hospitals have adopted AM technology and 11 of the hospitals adopted AM in OMFS. Orthognathic and trauma surgery are two major types of surgery that involve AM technology where material extrusion and vat polymerization are the two most used AM technologies in OMFS. The primary application of AM was in medical models and guides. Conclusion Majority of Swedish university hospitals and non-university hospitals have adopted AM in OMFS. The type of hospital (university or non-university hospital) has no impact on AM adoption. AM in OMFS in Sweden can be perceived to be a mature clinical application.

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons’ views on the adoption of additive manufacturing: findings from a nationwide survey

“…Among the surgeons, 65.5% had experience with AM and 34.5% had never used AM before. For details on the sample characteristics, refer to [ 14 ].…”

“…The data used in this study focuses on the 11 Likert scale questions that were included in a larger survey. For further details on the population and the procedure, refer to [ 14 ].…”

“…One exception is a recent survey from Germany reporting that surgeons are more interested in adopting AM to increase the safety of pre-surgical training by providing a “simulation-based learning environment” [ 13 ]. Previous studies have demonstrated AM as a mature technology in OMFS, with an adoption rate of around 60–65% in countries such as Germany and Sweden [ 13 , 14 ].…”

“…Although showing a relatively high adoption rate (above 60%) of AM within OMFS, existing studies are inconclusive about the impact of hospital type on adoption. Evidence from Germany indicates that university hospitals were more prone to adopt AM than non-university hospitals [ 13 ], whereas a study from Sweden found no difference between these two types of hospitals in terms of AM adoption [ 14 ]. Furthermore, these studies [ 13 , 14 ] did not explore how previous experience with AM influenced surgeons' views.…”

“…Evidence from Germany indicates that university hospitals were more prone to adopt AM than non-university hospitals [ 13 ], whereas a study from Sweden found no difference between these two types of hospitals in terms of AM adoption [ 14 ]. Furthermore, these studies [ 13 , 14 ] did not explore how previous experience with AM influenced surgeons' views. One could hypothesize that surgeons with no experience in AM would hold more negative views on AM.…”