The use of 3D printing in medicine
Not all parts of our body have the same "shelf life", and increasingly, modern medicine presents us with samples of artificial "parts" instead of worn.
But how to combine an implant made on a conveyor belt with an always unique patient?
How to avoid the painful procedure of leading a person to artificial standards?
How to turn a long operation into a simple and quick replacement of "parts"?
The technology of 3-D printing comes to the aid of medicine.
')
The largest modern 3-D printers allow you to print a detail height in human height. It is not surprising that the technology of rapid prototyping is used in medicine, namely, to recreate those parts of the human body that have been damaged or have become unusable.
The materials used in three-dimensional printing are not suitable for replacing the "demolished parts" in our body - but this technology makes it possible to create medical instruments that are made to order for each patient, in accordance with his illness and anatomical features.
Such methods are actively implemented by Materialize , which successfully cooperates with medical institutions around the world. The software, originally created by the company's programmers to model objects for 3-D printing, is now adapted to preparing and planning operations for replacing joints, jaws, and in more severe cases, entire areas of the facial skull. At the entrance, Materialize specialists receive images of the scanned body area, and at the exit, guides for drills and blades that ideally match the patient's anatomical structure are placed at the surgeon’s disposal.
One of the first software products of the company that has found application in medicine is Mimics , a program that allows you to transform a set of tomographic images into a three-dimensional model in STL format (this format is a 3-D printer capable of transforming into a real object). At this stage segmentation is carried out, i.e. creating a mask on each snapshot that coincides with its contours with the part of the body that the surgeon is interested in. Then the set of masks is recalculated by the program into the volumetric “portrait” of the bone.
A number of operations, such as the installation of an implant jaw or knee joint, have been prepared by Materialize engineers for several years. Employees have extensive experience in this field. As a rule, surgical intervention planning is carried out by engineers in specially developed programs SurgiCase (in orthopedics) and SimPlant (in dentistry).
For example, when working with a knee joint, an employee designates on three-dimensional STL-models of bones points and lines corresponding to the axes and directions of rotation, bend and mutual pressure in the joint, selects implants of the required size, monitors compliance with all conditions specified by the surgeon. According to the specified points, the program automatically calculates all the parameters that affect the placement of implants in the knee, and, as a result, finds the optimal location of the guides for the surgeon's instruments.
The finished plan is sent to the doctor, for the convenience of which an affordable Signature program has been created, making it easy to view and adjust the parameters of the future operation.
Finally, the entire data set is imported into 3-matic , an editor for working with STL-format files. The program has the most extensive capabilities, among which are applications that allow, using an accurate bone surface model and planning parameters, to create guides that correspond to an operable section with an accuracy of a fraction of a millimeter.
Of the 3-matic STL-models are exported in ready-to-print format, after which they are available to the engineers responsible for its successful production. After a while, the surgeon receives by mail ready guides - tools that allow you to quickly, accurately and safely conduct the planned operation. In addition to them, you can order models of the bones themselves - for a preliminary review.
It is so convenient and practical that many surgeons are constantly practicing this method - for several years of the project’s existence, Materialize staff prepared thousands of operations on the joints, and the department responsible for the dental field was assigned to Materialize Dental (residents of Russia, Ukraine, etc. countries of the post-Soviet space have the opportunity to literally come into contact with the products of the Materialize company - many domestic dental clinics cooperate with us).
Experience in the field of orthopedics and dentistry makes it possible to extend this approach to other parts of the body. On the approach - operations on the hip joint, in the active development is the technology for the installation of cardiac implants.
However, the software developed by the company is not only used in the preparation of standard implantations. Mimics and 3-matic tools allow for unique operations, thanks to the ability to recreate any scanned area of ​​the body and build the most complex 3-D object that corresponds to this area anatomically. But more about this - another time.
Daniel Tkachev
Quality Engineer of the Orthopedic Materialize
But how to combine an implant made on a conveyor belt with an always unique patient?
How to avoid the painful procedure of leading a person to artificial standards?
How to turn a long operation into a simple and quick replacement of "parts"?
The technology of 3-D printing comes to the aid of medicine.
')
I am changing a joint by a photo
The largest modern 3-D printers allow you to print a detail height in human height. It is not surprising that the technology of rapid prototyping is used in medicine, namely, to recreate those parts of the human body that have been damaged or have become unusable.
The materials used in three-dimensional printing are not suitable for replacing the "demolished parts" in our body - but this technology makes it possible to create medical instruments that are made to order for each patient, in accordance with his illness and anatomical features.
Such methods are actively implemented by Materialize , which successfully cooperates with medical institutions around the world. The software, originally created by the company's programmers to model objects for 3-D printing, is now adapted to preparing and planning operations for replacing joints, jaws, and in more severe cases, entire areas of the facial skull. At the entrance, Materialize specialists receive images of the scanned body area, and at the exit, guides for drills and blades that ideally match the patient's anatomical structure are placed at the surgeon’s disposal.
In the morning - pictures, in the evening - a plan
One of the first software products of the company that has found application in medicine is Mimics , a program that allows you to transform a set of tomographic images into a three-dimensional model in STL format (this format is a 3-D printer capable of transforming into a real object). At this stage segmentation is carried out, i.e. creating a mask on each snapshot that coincides with its contours with the part of the body that the surgeon is interested in. Then the set of masks is recalculated by the program into the volumetric “portrait” of the bone.
A number of operations, such as the installation of an implant jaw or knee joint, have been prepared by Materialize engineers for several years. Employees have extensive experience in this field. As a rule, surgical intervention planning is carried out by engineers in specially developed programs SurgiCase (in orthopedics) and SimPlant (in dentistry).
For example, when working with a knee joint, an employee designates on three-dimensional STL-models of bones points and lines corresponding to the axes and directions of rotation, bend and mutual pressure in the joint, selects implants of the required size, monitors compliance with all conditions specified by the surgeon. According to the specified points, the program automatically calculates all the parameters that affect the placement of implants in the knee, and, as a result, finds the optimal location of the guides for the surgeon's instruments.
The finished plan is sent to the doctor, for the convenience of which an affordable Signature program has been created, making it easy to view and adjust the parameters of the future operation.
Signed to print!
Finally, the entire data set is imported into 3-matic , an editor for working with STL-format files. The program has the most extensive capabilities, among which are applications that allow, using an accurate bone surface model and planning parameters, to create guides that correspond to an operable section with an accuracy of a fraction of a millimeter.
Of the 3-matic STL-models are exported in ready-to-print format, after which they are available to the engineers responsible for its successful production. After a while, the surgeon receives by mail ready guides - tools that allow you to quickly, accurately and safely conduct the planned operation. In addition to them, you can order models of the bones themselves - for a preliminary review.
It is so convenient and practical that many surgeons are constantly practicing this method - for several years of the project’s existence, Materialize staff prepared thousands of operations on the joints, and the department responsible for the dental field was assigned to Materialize Dental (residents of Russia, Ukraine, etc. countries of the post-Soviet space have the opportunity to literally come into contact with the products of the Materialize company - many domestic dental clinics cooperate with us).
To be continued
Experience in the field of orthopedics and dentistry makes it possible to extend this approach to other parts of the body. On the approach - operations on the hip joint, in the active development is the technology for the installation of cardiac implants.
However, the software developed by the company is not only used in the preparation of standard implantations. Mimics and 3-matic tools allow for unique operations, thanks to the ability to recreate any scanned area of ​​the body and build the most complex 3-D object that corresponds to this area anatomically. But more about this - another time.
Daniel Tkachev
Quality Engineer of the Orthopedic Materialize
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/88159/
All Articles