Printed a model of my skull, in 3D!
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 8:17 am
I work for an engineering organization which has some very cool capabilities, including stereolithography (3-dimensional printing). We often print plastic versions of jaw bones and other items for medical purposes...such as a replica of a patient's heart so the surgeon can be sure his tools will "fit" appropriately. In other instances we can print jaw bones to show surgeons the extent of where a tumor is, so they can plan accordingly.
Knowing we could do this, I brought my surgeon an example part (someone else's jaw bone). Naturally, he's seen this type of thing already (it's new but not *that* new). He got quite excited and immediately took a three-dimensional scan of my post-surgical skull and gave me a cd with all that data. From there it was a matter of translating it into the proper format (no simple task) and slicing it into layers. The machine then follows the path described by each layer and runs a laser over that path, curing the amorphous resin into a 3D solid. It's absolutely fascinating to see it in action, and even more than ever since it was my own skull this time!
Here's me holding my own head (just in time for Halloween!):
Take a look below. Notice that my teeth & roots + bone plates (upper jaw) + lower jaw nerve (inferior alveolar nerve?) are all highlighted as part of the printing process (these items are more "cured" via the laser than the rest of the material, giving them that dark pink look):
** Notice the oddly shaped bone remnant (original lower jaw piece) that I have as a result of IVRO surgery and how the surgeon rotated my jaw significantly in that direction leaving a mismatch between the old bone and surgically moved section.
Again from a different angle:
For reference, here are some images of my open bite, (as of FEB 2010) prior to braces & surgery (my photos are on the left, the right side is "ideal"...which I am quite close to as of today:
** Notice also the 30+ pounds of weight difference between my before & after photos
DRG
Knowing we could do this, I brought my surgeon an example part (someone else's jaw bone). Naturally, he's seen this type of thing already (it's new but not *that* new). He got quite excited and immediately took a three-dimensional scan of my post-surgical skull and gave me a cd with all that data. From there it was a matter of translating it into the proper format (no simple task) and slicing it into layers. The machine then follows the path described by each layer and runs a laser over that path, curing the amorphous resin into a 3D solid. It's absolutely fascinating to see it in action, and even more than ever since it was my own skull this time!
Here's me holding my own head (just in time for Halloween!):
Take a look below. Notice that my teeth & roots + bone plates (upper jaw) + lower jaw nerve (inferior alveolar nerve?) are all highlighted as part of the printing process (these items are more "cured" via the laser than the rest of the material, giving them that dark pink look):
** Notice the oddly shaped bone remnant (original lower jaw piece) that I have as a result of IVRO surgery and how the surgeon rotated my jaw significantly in that direction leaving a mismatch between the old bone and surgically moved section.
Again from a different angle:
For reference, here are some images of my open bite, (as of FEB 2010) prior to braces & surgery (my photos are on the left, the right side is "ideal"...which I am quite close to as of today:
** Notice also the 30+ pounds of weight difference between my before & after photos
DRG
