Rapid prototyping assisted surgery planning and custom implant design

Purpose – This paper aims to describe computer-aided design and rapid prototyping (RP) systems for the preoperative planning and fabrication of custom-made implant. Design/methodology/approach – A patient with mandible defect underwent reconstruction using custom-made implant. 3D models of the patient’s skull are generated based on computed tomography image data. After evaluation of the 3D reconstructed image, it was identified that some bone fragment was moved due to the missing segment. During the implant design process, the correct position of the bone fragment was defined and the geometry of the custom-made implant was generated based on mirror image technique and is fabricated by a RP machine. Surgical approach such as preoperative planning and simulation of surgical procedures was performed using the fabricated skull models and custom-made implant. Findings – Results show that the stereolithography model provided an accurate tool for preoperative, surgical simulation. Research limitations/implications – The methods described above suffer from the expensive cost of RP technique. Practical implications – This method allows accurate fabrication of the implant. The advantages of using this technique are that the physical model of the implant is fitted on the skull model so that the surgeon can plan and rehearse the surgery in advance and a less invasive surgical procedure and less time-consuming reconstructive and an adequate esthetic can result. Originality/value – The method improves the reconstructive surgery and reduces the risk of a second intervention, and the psychological stress of the patient will be eliminated.