Process of Manufacturing Transparent Models of Anatomical Structures

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>In recent years, a rapid increase in the use of three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies in medicine, especially in the manufacturing of the diagnostic models, can be observed. In some cases, there is a need to fabricate transparent models that allow visualization of internal structures of the object. Unfortunately, techniques used to manufacture such models are often very expensive and time-consuming. The above-mentioned issues were the motivation for developing a new method of fabrication transparent models for visualization of internal structures for planning surgical treatments. This paper presents the process of making transparent models using the newly developed method – the stacked layers method. In order to compare this new method and one of the most common 3D printing technologies – fused deposition modeling (FDM) – the models for two medical cases using both of these methods were fabricated. As a result of this work, it can be concluded that the stacked layers method provides faster and cheaper way of making transparent medical models. The main features of fabrication process that have a huge impact on quality of the models made by new method were pointed. The results of this study suggest that models fabricated with the use of this method can be useful as a diagnostic tool in medical applications for planning surgical treatments.</jats:p>