The 3D Printing Technology Helps Doctors Solve Bone Surgery Problems.

By samsurikamal

17/3/2017

The technology of medical 3D printing has indicates advantages towards doctors by promoting fake bones to enhance accuracy of surgery.

The technology actually has been already introduced since seven years ago by Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM). It has been promoted to hospital whether it’s private or even government. This product is not been commercialized due to causing a thousand of money to complete the entire body.

The price is a bit high for moderate consumer when it cost about RM1000-RM3000 for skull model. The skull is made by an SIRIM firm is actually half transparent. It made by lots of implant from titanium.

The titanium skull implant model

However, the expensive model part for 3D printer model is backbone. It is because it has long and unique appearance for each individual. Since it’s consuming a lot of fragments that need to have specific outlook, the price for that part is within RM5000-RM7000.

The sample of back bone (vertebrate) that made by 3D printing just cost around RM5000-RM7000

A 3d printed medical model can be used by healthcare professionals for surgical planning and re-construction. Using this model, surgical procedures can be conducted offline to validate the implants and processes. This will help in reduction of the duration of the actual surgical procedure and result in better efficiency and accuracy.

Although it is expensive, however it is proven to fasten surgery when the doctors may determine the fraction earlier from this 3Dimension (3D) printing. It exposes an actual scale bones on how much space/patch needed by specialist. The calculation of the patch will be made earlier; hence it could save a lot of time.

Although X-ray is commonly used by doctors to see the how damage affected, however, the innovative machinery from 3D printing can ascertain the bone’s condition and yet much closer detail by holding a module or called fake bones. It revealed that every accident/fracture that cannot measure by the 2D. It also gives full detail about how large is the saiz, and what the proper actual shape for normal bones.

“Just like photostate, it captures image to transform to the machine and produce the result. It does not have any mole to convert the image to become bones” khairul Aimi described about the similarity concept of 3d printing with Photostat machine.

 The senior consultant of medical technology research and technology also explained that the images from the city scan - a computerised tomography that is look likes scan tunnel where it scans the parts that convey from the body to images. After complete the scan from patient, it will transfer the image to computer. The computer has Mimic Simulation Software where it is software that displays the whole angle to get the three dimension view.

After that, the data will send to the 3D machine to produce the titanium model by using Selective Laser Sintering (SLS). The laser will shape a layer by layer until it complete to become an object. Then, the object will be polished to make it soft until it to become a model. It usually takes for six hour to complete the bone model.

One of the examples of 3D printing machine

Another country that implement the usage of 3D printing is England, one of the orthopedic specialise gave his speech in Youtube; Surgical Planning Using 3D Printed Bones about the benefit of this machine and model.

Dr boyd goldie says by using this advance technology a surgeons will has no surprise to deal with bone problems. He claimed “with modern radiology software you can get a virtual model on screen. You can rotate it but it is still not the same as holding something in your hands”. The 3D printing promote better understanding with the surgeons do not have any surprise when it comes to do the operation said Dr boyd goldie.

This technology has already been introduced since 30 years ago. It has been commercialized to western countries such as America & Europe since 1990s. Malaysia do not commonly used by doctors especially in government sector hospitals due to the high cost/price said SIRIM consultant.