Rapid prototyping for orthopaedic surgery

Abstract

The revision of an orthopaedic procedure can present surgeons with the challenge of a complex reconstructive process. Orthopaedic surgery can also face considerable challenges in cases presenting extensive primary injuries with multiple bone fragmentation, as well as in cases presenting bone deformities. Radiographs are used routinely for orthopaedic surgical planning, yet they provide inadequate information on the precise three-dimensional extent of bone defects. Three-dimensional reconstructions from X-ray computed tomography offer superior visualization but are not portable for consultation or readily available in the operating theatre for guidance during a procedure. A physical model manufactured from X-ray computed tomography data can offer surgeons a clear understanding of complex anatomical detail, by providing an intuitive physical relationship between patient and model. Rapid prototyping was used for the construction of an anatomical model in a case presenting with a complex shoulder injury. The model provided a definitive interpretation of joint pathology and enabled a full assessment of the degree of injury.

Cell and organ printing 2: Fusion of cell aggregates in three‐dimensional gels

“…Recently, rapid prototyping (RP) technology has been used to fabricate physical models of hard tissues, tissue scaffolds, and custom-made tissue implant prostheses (Potamianos et al, 1998;Holck et al, 1999;Winder et al, 1999). RP technology has been used to produce novel scaffolds with controllable porosity and channel sizes, potentially allowing for vacularization (Zein et al, 2002).…”

Recent development on computer aided tissue engineering — a review

“…The advantages of adopting anatomical modeling with rapid prototyping for surgery and planning can be summarized as following [37], 1. production of anatomical prototypes from Xray CT or MRI data for visualization, diagnosis and pre-operative planning; 2. manufacture of artificial limbs from laser or ultrasound data with custom fitting sockets for comfort and long wear;…”

“…Steps in the fabrication of a patient model by RP processing [37] are, 1. patient scans with CT/MR imagings; 2. segmentation to delineate and extract the surface as triangles or polygons; 3. model pre-processing to produce a STL file formatted solid model; 4. model slicing by selected RP processing; 5. model fabrication.…”

“…Available RP processes commonly used in prototyping anatomical modeling have been summarized in reference [37] as follows.…”

“…Today's computer-aided technologies, medical imaging, modern design and manufacturing have further assisted in those advances and created new possibilities in the development of tissue engineering. Such possibilities include, for example, using noninvasive computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to generate tissue structural views for 3-D anatomical model, for tissue classification and trauma/tumor identification [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33], using computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) and rapid prototyping (RP) technology to fabricate the physical models of hard tissues, tissue scaffolds, and the custom-made tissue implant prostheses [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42], and applying the anatomical and physical modeling for reconstructive surgeons and tissue implementation [43][44][45][46][47].…”