Rapid prototyping for orthopaedic surgery.

The revision of an orthopaedic procedure can present surgeons with the challenge of a complex reconstructive process. Orthopaedic surgery can also face considerable challenges in cases presenting extensive primary injuries with multiple bone fragmentation, as well as in cases presenting bone deformities. Radiographs are used routinely for orthopaedic surgical planning, yet they provide inadequate information on the precise three-dimensional extent of bone defects. Three-dimensional reconstructions from X-ray computed tomography offer superior visualization but are not portable for consultation or readily available in the operating theatre for guidance during a procedure. A physical model manufactured from X-ray computed tomography data can offer surgeons a clear understanding of complex anatomical detail, by providing an intuitive physical relationship between patient and model. Rapid prototyping was used for the construction of an anatomical model in a case presenting with a complex shoulder injury. The model provided a definitive interpretation of joint pathology and enabled a full assessment of the degree of injury.

Rapid prototyping techniques for anatomical modelling in medicine.

The rapid advances in computer technology, often driven by the demands of industry, have created new possibilities in surgery which previous generations of surgeons could only have imagined. Improved imaging with computerised tomography (CT) has been followed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and, more recently, it has become possible to reformat the data as three-dimensional images. Computer technology has new moved forward with the advent of rapid prototyping techniques (RPT) which allow both the production of models of the hard tissues and custom-made prostheses from computerised scanning data. In this article we review the development and current technologies available in RPT and the applications of this advance in surgery and illustrate this with two case reports.