Augmented patient-specific facial prosthesis production using medical imaging modelling and 3D printing technologies for improved patient outcomes

ABSTRACT

Facial prosthetic offer patients a low risk and high impact treatment option to address underlying facial defects. Such devices are generally handmade, requiring several labour-intensive manufacturing phases and numerous patient consultations to develop the final device. Therefore, production is a time-consuming and costly process with significant inconvenience to the patient and highly dependent on the skills of the prosthetists, making the whole process highly subjective. We investigate the potential of medical imaging, 3D design modelling and high-resolution 3D printing to augment the production of an auricular prosthesis for a patient who was previously using a handmade prosthesis. We reproduce the patient’s uncompromised anatomy from CT scan data, before printing a mirrored template to use in the casting process for a silicone prosthesis. This technique realises a superior end prosthesis with a realistic look on the patient while streamlining the current production methodology.

KEYWORDS:

• Prosthesis
• 3D printing
• modelling
• medical device
• patient-specific

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Mazher I. Mohammed http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2177-9845

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mazher I. Mohammed

Mazher I. Mohammed is a Senior Research Fellow of Advance Design at Deakin University’s School of Engineering and is a principal member of the newly formed Deakin Digitally Driven Engineering Centre (3DEC) and the Deakin branch of the Australian research Council (ARC)-funded Bioadditive manufacturing training hub. His research interests see him working very closely with industry, NGOs, clinicians and various national/international academic institutes, and he currently leads several applied additive manufacturing projects which encompass 3D medical technologies, sustainable engineering solutions and fundamentals in polymer design for additive manufacturing. He has also successfully translated several of his current research projects into working commercial products, demonstrating the clinical use of 3D printing technologies for facial prosthetics, development of the world’s first maxilla/dental implantable device and recycling of waste plastics for use in commercial and humanitarian applications.

Brenton Cadd

Brenton Cadd is currently the Head of Facial Prosthetics at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Victoria, Australia, and has over 45 years’ experience designing and making prosthetics. During his career, he completed his apprenticeship as a Dental Technician at the Royal Dental Hospital in 1973 before taking up the position as a facial prosthetist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Brenton then was promoted to the Head of Facial Prosthetics at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in 1998.

Greg Peart

Greg Peart currently works as a senior facial prosthetist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Victoria, Australia, and has over 35 years’ experience designing and making prosthetics. During his career, he completed his apprenticeship as a Dental Technician at the Royal Dental Hospital Melbourne in 1980 before taking up a position in the Cleft Palate Department. Greg then began work as a Facial Prosthetist within the Facial Prosthetics department at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in 1983.

Ian Gibson

Ian Gibson is Professor of Additive Manufacturing at Deakin University School of Engineering. He has been researching into Additive Manufacturing for around 25 years and is co-author of the best-selling book Additive Manufacturing: 3D Printing, Rapid Prototyping and Direct Digital Manufacturing.