Should You Buy a Three-Dimensional Printer? A Study of an Orbital Fracture

Abstract

The use of three-dimensional (3D) printing has been growing significantly in medicine for the past 10 years, especially in maxillofacial surgery. A lot a different softwares and printers are available on the market, and it can be difficult to choose which one fits best one's needs. In the authors’ institution, the authors regularly print orbits to prepare the reconstruction. The authors then compared the 3D printing of an orbital fracture between a professional and nonprofessional software and between a bottom of the range and a more elaborated printer. The results show that there is a wide variation between the quality of the printing, as well as the time used for the preparation. Costs between free or professional software must also be considered. In conclusion, an analysis of needs and what is available on the market must be studied before investing in 3D printing.

3D Printing in Eye Care

“…Even in scenarios when equipment is not available or is not of sufficient quality, designers can upload their three-dimensional files to a third party for outsourced printing. [ 180 ]. As the technology and access continue to improve, 3D printing will assume a greater role in the field of ophthalmology.…”

Three-Dimensional Printed Nasal Prostheses After Oncologic Rhinectomies: Workflow and Patients’ Satisfaction

“…15 Indeed, the quality of the printing did not only depend on the software and the printer but also on the radiographic data used. 17 Concerning the design, an advantage of using preoperative images was to match the prostheses' designs to the patients' own nose features and not to draw them, which requires artistic skills and time. 14 However, additional manual modeling was necessary.…”

“…A professional software-printer combo was operated by a partnership with a professional technician, to benefit from the quality of the professional software and printer and to reduce the cost of the operation. 17 Stereolithography is the current gold standard of additive manufacturing, with a high resolution (0.025 mm) but can only use 1 resin at a time. 15 The 2 materials available are the resin and the silicone.…”

Utility and Access to 3-Dimensional Printing in the Context of Congenital Heart Disease: An International Physician Survey Study

“…The cost of segmentation software is also highly varied from free for open access software to $17,500 Canadian dollars/year for a professional license (Materialise Mimics Innovation Suite). 21 The segmentation process of converting clinical images to STL files, which can be read by the 3D printer, is a labor-intensive and time-consuming one that involves expertise from skilled personnel. These skilled personnel require a highly specialized skill set, including the ability to understand segmentation and manage a 3D printer, and knowledge of anatomy.…”