An innovative method of ocular prosthesis fabrication by bio-CAD and rapid 3-D printing technology: A pilot study

ABSTRACT

Ocular prosthesis is either a readymade stock shell or custom made prosthesis (CMP). Presently, there is no other technology available, which is either superior or even comparable to the conventional CMP. The present study was designed to fabricate ocular prosthesis using computer aided design (CAD) and rapid manufacturing (RM) technology and to compare it with custom made prosthesis (CMP). The ocular prosthesis prepared by CAD was compared with conventional CMP in terms of time taken for fabrication, weight, cosmesis, comfort, and motility. Two eyes of two patients were included. Computerized tomography scan of wax model of socket was converted into three dimensional format using Materialize Interactive Medical Image Control System (MIMICS)software and further refined. This was given as an input to rapid manufacturing machine (Polyjet 3-D printer). The final painting on prototype was done by an ocularist. The average effective time required for fabrication of CAD prosthesis was 2.5 hours; and weight 2.9 grams. The same for CMP were 10 hours; and 4.4 grams. CAD prosthesis was more comfortable for both the patients. The study demonstrates the first ever attempt of fabricating a complete ocular prosthesis using CAD and rapid manufacturing and comparing it with conventional CMP. This prosthesis takes lesser time for fabrication, and is more comfortable. Studies with larger sample size will be required to further validate this technique.

KEYWORDS:

• Artificial eye
• computer-aided
• 3D printing
• prosthesis

Acknowledgments

All authors contributed equally in the preparation of this manuscript. The authors would like to acknowledge the following for their help in the study: Dr. Veena Noronha (Consultant radiologist, VRR Scans, Chennai, India); Dr. Ronnie Jacob George (Director Research, Medical Research Foundation, Chennai, India); Mr. Ezakiel (Ocularist, Ocular Prosthetic Services, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai). The MIMICS software used in this work was supported by Anna University, DST-National Hub for Healthcare Instrumentation Development (NHHID) project.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.