Rehabilitation of a Patient of Traumatic Anotia using Computer Aided Designing and Rapid Prototyping

Introduction: Absence of external auricle predisposes anindividual to a great deal of psychological trauma alongwith functional complications. The conventional methodsof fabrication of auricular prosthesis by duplicating themorphology of the normal contralateral ear are timeconsuming, error-prone and very much subjective in terms ofquality.Case report: The present case report describes rehabilitationof a patient of traumatic anotia of left side with a custommade adhesive retained silicone prosthesis, developed withthe help of computer aided designing and rapid prototypingtechnology.Conclusion: Consistent good quality prosthesis may beobtained using advanced digital technologies that includeoptical scanning, computer-aided designing (CAD) and rapidprototyping (RP) which are more objective in nature.

Solid Freeform Techniques Application in Bone Tissue Engineering for Scaffold Fabrication

Solid freeform techniques are revolutionising technology with great potential to fabricate highly organized biodegradable scaffolds for damaged tissues and organs. Scaffolds fabricated via Solid freeform (SFF) techniques have more pronounced effect in bone tissue engineering. SFF techniques produce various types of scaffolds from different biomaterials with specific pore size, geometries, orientation, interconnectivity and anatomical shapes. Scaffolds needs to be designed from such biomaterials which can attach directly to natural tissues and mimic its properties, so ideally mechanical properties of scaffolds should be same as that of regenerating tissues for best results. The scaffolds designed without optimized mechanical properties would lead to the reduced nutrition diffusion within tissue engineered constructs (TECs) causing tissue necrosis. These scaffolds are mainly processed from ceramics and polymers like calcium phosphate, polydioxane, €-polycaprolactone, polylactic and polyglycolic acids etc. While, hydrogel scaffolds provide bridge for encapsulated cells and tissues to integrate with natural ECM. Likewise, 2D images from radiography were not sufficient for the prediction of the brain structure, cranial nerves, vessel and architecture of base of the skull and bones, which became possible using the 3D prototyping technologies. Any misrepresentation can lead to fatal outcomes. Biomodelling from these techniques for spinal surgery and preoperative planning are making its way toward successful treatment of several spinal deformities and spinal tumor. In this review we explored laser based and printing SFF techniques following its methodologies, principles and most recent areas of application with its achievements and possible challenges faced during its applications.