3D scanning and printing skeletal tissues for anatomy education

The application of 3D printing in anatomy education

M odern medical education relies on a wealth of resources as one of the key elements in developing students' clinical competencies. Acquiring these resources represents a considerable challenge for many medical schools, not only for financial but also a variety of other reasons, including ethical, legal, and cultural. Obtaining human tissue, in particular, faces many constraints, which, in some...

3D Scanning, Imaging, and Printing in Orthodontics

CopyMe3D: Scanning and Printing Persons in 3D

In this paper, we describe a novel approach to create 3D miniatures of persons using a Kinect sensor and a 3D color printer. To achieve this, we acquire color and depth images while the person is rotating on a swivel chair. We represent the model with a signed distance function which is updated and visualized as the images are captured for immediate feedback. Our approach automatically fills sm...

Process Monitoring of Extrusion Based 3D Printing via Laser Scanning

Extrusion based 3D Printing (E3DP) is an Additive Manufacturing (AM) technique that extrudes thermoplastic polymer in order to build up components using a layerwise approach. Hereby, AM typically requires long production times in comparison to mass production processes such as Injection Molding. Failures during the AM process are often only noticed after build completion and frequently lead to ...

New Directions in 3D Medical Modeling: 3D-Printing Anatomy and Functions in Neurosurgical Planning

This paper illustrates the feasibility and utility of combining cranial anatomy and brain function on the same 3D-printed model, as evidenced by a neurosurgical planning case study of a 29-year-old female patient with a low-grade frontal-lobe glioma. We herein report the rapid prototyping methodology utilized in conjunction with surgical navigation to prepare and plan a complex neurosurgery. Th...