Accuracy Verification of an Anatomical Model Manufactured Using Low-Cost Additive Production

Abstract

The paper deals with the separation of the third cervical vertebra using the software VGStudio MAX, Mimics, and inVesalius. During the separation, various parameters of the threshold were used to determine the effect. The comparison of models from Mimics and inVesalius to VGStudio MAX showed that the cumulative variance distribution for 95% surface coverage is less than 0.935 mm. When comparing medically oriented software, Mimics and inVesalius, the deviation was less than 0.356 mm. The model was made of polylactic acid (PLA) material on a low-cost 3D printer, Prusa i3 MK2.5 MMU1. The printed model was scanned by four scanners: Artec Eva, 3Shape D700, Steinbichler Comet L3D, and Creaform EXAscan. The outputs from the scanners were compared to the reference model (standard tessellation language (STL) model for 3D printing) as well as to the scanner with the best accuracy (3Shape). Compared to the publications below, the analysis of deviations was evaluated on the entire surface of the model and not on selected dimensions. The cumulative variance distribution for comparing the output from the 3D scanner with the reference model, as well as comparing the scanners, shows that the deviation for 95% of the surface coverage is at the level of 0.300 mm. Since the model of the vertebra is planned for education and training, the used software and technologies are suitable for use in the design and the production process.