Study on Integrated Method of Medical Implant Manufacture Based on Rapid Prototyping Technology

Abstract

The traditional method to manufacture the medical implant or prosthesis is based on sculpting and on the tissue site,or takes impressions of the entire face about human. The accuracy and efficiency of medical implant or prosthesis produced by conventional method is heavily relied on the skill and experience of both designer and manufacturer. In this paper, an integrated method of medical implant manufacture is approached. This integrated strategy was to establish a system that allows fabrication of facial prosthesis from digital information, and integrates the rapid prototyping with modeling technology of complex three-dimensional geometry from high-resolution non-invasive imaging, reverse engineering and computer aided design. The research results have shown that the integrated method can produce more exact-fit medical implant, that is, the physical model of the implant is more exactly fitted on the skull model. The advantages of this method are that the surgeon can plan and rehearse the surgery in advance, and a less invasive surgical procedure, and less time-consuming reconstructive, and an adequate esthetic can result.