Accuracy Assessment of Molded, Patient-Specific Polymethylmethacrylate Craniofacial Implants Compared to Their 3D Printed Originals
Open Access
- 19 March 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in Journal of Clinical Medicine
- Vol. 9 (3), 832
- https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9030832
Abstract
The use of patient-specific implants (PSIs) in craniofacial surgery is often limited due to a lack of expertise and/or production costs. Therefore, a simple and cost-efficient template-based fabrication workflow has been developed to overcome these disadvantages. The aim of this study is to assess the accuracy of PSIs made from their original templates. For a representative cranial defect (CRD) and a temporo-orbital defect (TOD), ten PSIs were made from polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) using computer-aided design (CAD) and three-dimensional (3D) printing technology. These customized implants were measured and compared with their original 3D printed templates. The implants for the CRD revealed a root mean square (RMS) value ranging from 1.128 to 0.469 mm with a median RMS (Q1 to Q3) of 0.574 (0.528 to 0.701) mm. Those for the TOD revealed an RMS value ranging from 1.079 to 0.630 mm with a median RMS (Q1 to Q3) of 0.843 (0.635 to 0.943) mm. This study demonstrates that a highly precise duplication of PSIs can be achieved using this template-molding workflow. Thus, virtually planned implants can be accurately transferred into haptic PSIs. This workflow appears to offer a sophisticated solution for craniofacial reconstruction and continues to prove itself in daily clinical practice.Keywords
This publication has 39 references indexed in Scilit:
- A critical inventory of preoperative skull replicasThe Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England, 2013
- Customized Cranioplasty Implants Using Three-Dimensional Printers and Polymethyl-Methacrylate CastingJournal of Korean Neurosurgical Society, 2012
- Cranioplasty: Review of materials and techniquesJournal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice, 2011
- Novel composite implant in craniofacial bone reconstructionEuropean Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, 2011
- Long-term experience with methylmethacrylate cranioplasty in craniofacial surgeryJournal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, 2008
- Cost-Effective Patient-Specific Intraoperative Molded CranioplastyThe Journal of Craniofacial Surgery, 2008
- Automated Design and Production of Cranioplasty Plates: Outer Surface Methodology, Accuracies and a Direct Comparison to Manual TechniquesComputer-Aided Design and Applications, 2006
- Validation of computer-assisted manufacture of titanium plates for cranioplastyInternational Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, 1999
- Porosity in Manually Mixed Bone CementClinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 1988
- Acrylic resin for the closure of skull defects preliminary reportBritish Journal of Surgery, 1945