China3D printingNet, June 18, researchers from the Technical University of Graz (TU Graz) and the Medical University of Graz, Austria, have designed an automated system for skull implant (or cranioplasty) design.
The program has been integrated into TU Graz’s Studierfenster cloud-based platform, which uses deep learning algorithms to automatically restore missing parts of the skull.By subtracting the defective skull from the completed skull, it is possible to generalize and generate patient-specific implantsstl file.This process is allowed on site3D printingImplants, and greatly reduce the current delivery cycle of implants used for conventional surgery, and also reduce the pain and discomfort of patients.
3D printingSkull implant
Skull defects are usually caused by head trauma and previous surgical procedures related to skull deformity correction or brain tumor resection. During this period, the surgeon needs to remove a portion of the skull to gain access to the brain. To repair this damage, titanium or biocompatible polymers are usually used to make synthetic substitutes, because the original bone structure is too damaged or contaminated to be reused.
The current production process for cranioplasty mainly relies on high-quality implant designs and skull implants manufactured by specialized companies, which are expensive and time-consuming. The advanced expertise required to perform the process, plus the commercial software needed to optimize it, will make these costs even higher. In addition, the labor cost of this procedure is also worth considering. In the current process, patients need at least two operations: craniotomy and cranioplasty, which makes them suffer more. This may take a few days, and the skulls of all these patients are incomplete.
althoughbiology3D printingTechnological advancements have accelerated the manufacture of medical implant devices, but there is still a need for a fast, low-cost alternative product. For example, in a case study referred to by researchers, a Spanish patient had to wait for the implant to be designed using multiple software and manufactured in the UK before surgery. The research team used such examples to identify the existing implant design process as the main bottleneck in the current clinical workflow.
Researchers in Austria have developed an automated process that allows users to design skull implants. The picture comes from the Graz University of Technology.
Online platform of the Graz University of Technology
One way to reduce the cost and lead time in the production process is to develop temporary free CAD software for skull implant design. This still requires a high level of expertise in design and operation, so the researchers concluded that low-cost fully automated field design and manufacturing software is the ideal solution. Moreover, design automation remains a challenge. 3D printingThe implants need to fit precisely to the defect area of the skull and provide the brain protection done by its predecessor. If the boundary, thickness and shape consistency of the implant cannot be reconstructed perfectly, the part may leave the patient vulnerable to minor injuries.
Two students from the University of Graz launched the Studierfenster website. A cloud-based open science platform for medical image processing, the software can be accessed through any web browser. Since its initial release, the platform has added many features, such as 3D face reconstruction from 2D images, repair and repair of aortic dissection, automatic aortic landmark detection and automatic skull implant design. Most of the algorithms behind these interactive functions are running on the server, and they can be easily accessed using a common browser interface, allowing the platform to be used on small devices with lower computing power.
From its early development stage, Studierfenster’s automatic skull implant design system has been integrated into the software and has been iteratively optimized since then. The program works by uploading the patient’s CT scans into the software before and after the craniotomy, which generates the implant by calculating the difference between the two skulls.This will produce a surface model, which will be automated on site in the hospital3D printing, Thereby eliminating additional delivery time and external manufacturing costs. In addition, the procedure can subtract the defective skull from the reconstructed skull volume, so that the process can be automated, which is different from previous work.
The research team concluded that their online system for automatic skull implant design can greatly improve the current clinical practice of cranioplasty. The platform has shortcomings, and its effectiveness still depends to some extent on the hardware and the Internet, and the conversion of the skull volume into a grid may be slow. Despite this, the researchers still believe that although the software is currently used for education and research purposes, it may be used in future clinical settings.
The research team’s new automated procedure allows manufacturing and design to be performed entirely in the same hospital as the patient. The picture comes from the Graz University of Technology.
Skull Innovation in Additive Manufacturing
in the past few years,3D printingIt has been used to assist skull reconstruction surgery.For example, researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) used3D printingSuper-elastic bones to regenerate rat skull defects. This research may lead to the development of a cost-effective craniofacial bone graft solution.
Researchers at Texas A&M University will3D printing, Biomaterials engineering and stem cell biology are combined to create new, more efficient, and customizable bone graft materials.Scientists used this technique to produce3D printingThe highly osteogenic scaffold can promote the growth of bone cells and serve as a solid platform for custom-shaped bone regeneration.
The North Manchester General Hospital (NMGH) in the United Kingdom uses its3D printingThe laboratory created a DCIA bone graft to reconstruct the upper or lower jaw of cancer patients. This process saves a lot of time and cost for the hospital.
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