The use of 3D printing technology in human defect reconstruction-a review of cases study

In this paper, we report the benefit of Computer Tomography (CT), reverse engineering (RE) and rapid prototyping (RP) in individual implant production for maxillofacial surgery. The design and fabrication processes includes: a) processing medical image data of a patient’s pathologically defective area having a symmetrical part to construct a three-dimensional (3D) digital model; b) forming an image on the defective side, in this step different techniques are applied for individual cases, including mirroring the non-defect side, implant design from other skull CT data; c) implant geometry modeling; d) 3D printing of the skull and implant model; e) surgical planning and prosthesis fitting; f ) casting of a custom-fit titanium implant. Results show that the CAD method can reconstruct the defect after surgical resection. The 3D printing technique provides an accurate tool for preoperative, surgical simulation. The design and manufacturing time of the bone implant has thus been significantly reduced using the CAD method. Correspondence to: Sekou Singare, School of Mechanical Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, Dongguan 523808, China, Tel: 13538661940, E-mail: [email protected]/sekousingare@hotmail.