Assessing the Radiological Density and Accuracy of Mandible Polymer Anatomical Structures Manufactured Using 3D Printing Technologies

Abstract

Nowadays, 3D printing technologies are among the rapidly developing technologies applied to manufacture even the most geometrically complex models, however no techniques dominate in the area of craniofacial applications. This study included 12 different anatomical structures of the mandible, which were obtained during the process of reconstructing data from the Siemens Somatom Sensation Open 40 system. The manufacturing process used for the 12 structures involved the use of 8 3D printers and 12 different polymer materials. Verification of the accuracy and radiological density was performed with the CT160Xi Benchtop tomography system. The most accurate results were obtained in the case of models manufactured using the following materials: E-Model (Standard Deviation (SD) = 0.145 mm), FullCure 830 (SD = 0.188 mm), VeroClear (SD = 0.128 mm), Digital ABS-Ivory (SD = 0.117 mm), and E-Partial (SD = 0.129 mm). In the case of radiological density, ABS-M30 was similar to spongious bone, PC-10 was similar to the liver, and Polylactic acid (PLA) and Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) were similar to the spleen. Acrylic resin materials were able to imitate the pancreas, kidney, brain, and heart. The presented results constitute valuable guidelines that may improve currently used radiological phantoms and may provide support to surgeons in the process of performing more precise treatments within the mandible area.

Influence of torsion on the structure of machine elements made of polymeric materials by 3D printing

“…In recent years, incremental technologies have been increasingly used to manufacture not only visual or technological prototypes, but also full-value machine and device elements based on the Rapid Manufacturing process [9][10][11].…”

Incremental processing of polymer materials using the INDUSTRY 4.0 network structure

“…Additive technologies are used in many areas of science, as well as in various sectors of the economy, such as aviation [12][13][14], automotive [15,16], electromechanical [17,18], constructional [19][20][21], medical [22][23][24]. They are used both for multi-series production as well as in short series, or for the production of individual elements used, for example, in the construction of prototypes or customized for the needs of a given customer [25].…”

Estimating the Accuracy of Mandible Anatomical Models Manufactured Using Material Extrusion Methods

“…However, in models with very complex geometry (such as anatomical structures), the measurement using tactile methods is very time-consuming or impossible to carry out. Therefore, in such cases, optical coordinate measuring systems such as structure light (SL) [ 56 , 57 , 58 ], laser scanner (LS) [ 59 , 60 ], or micro computed tomography (μCT) [ 61 , 62 , 63 ] are used. Accuracy tests of optical measurement systems are mainly carried out by VDI/VDE 2634, ASME B89.4.22, and VDI/VDE 2630 Blatt 1.3 standards [ 64 , 65 , 66 ].…”