MRI versus CT as Image Data Source for 3D Printing Bone

Abstract

In orthopedics, 3D printing is a novel way of visualizing dense human tissue and structures, for example bones and ligaments, but also the respective relations between them, thus providing the surgical team with taking the preoperative planning of an intervention one step further from 3D computer reconstructions. In order for a medical 3D print reconstruction to be possible, bidimensional imaging is necessary, in the form of DICOM files. These are then used by specific software in order to create an STL file, that can then be inputted into a 3D printer and a three-dimensional replica of the desired structure, usually on a 1:1 scale, can be generated. We aim to compare two methods of acquiring and processing of 2D images � MRI and CT scans � as sources of DICOM files, with the end purpose of 3D printing the image of human bone.