Robotic-assisted 3D printing for bone defect reconstruction

Reconstruction of bone defects has always been a challenging task for the surgeons over the years. The expected goals of this kind of reconstructive surgery are not only to restore bone function but also to maintain the appearance of the human body. One of the methods to repair the defected bone is to reconstruct the missing or defective parts with artificial standard sized bone implants. In the traditional surgery, this kind of bone implants are adjusted to the requirement of most surgical procedures and are suitable for many of the patients, but might not be for all the patients. In addition, the traditional surgery might affect patient's skin by leaving visible scars, because the bone implants need to be surgically placed into the patient's body. The outcome of this kind of operation may be improved by using robot-assisted 3D printing technologies. To demonstrate the capability of robotic-assisted 3D printing for bone defect reconstruction, this MRes study has been conducted through several steps. Firstly, a 3D laser scanner was used to obtain 3D imaging data of the required site of the bone model. Secondly, with the use of 3D post-processing software, a 3D printable STL file was generated. Finally, as the last steps, the required parts were printed directly on the defected site of the original bone model by the robot-assisted 3D printer using PLA filaments. This study also provides the first academic research on the reconstruction of the bone defect by using the robotic-assisted 3D printer. This newest method links the advantages of the 3D printing in the reconstruction of bone defect with the flexibility of robotic arms to perform surgery.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

mres

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters-pg

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Strathclyde

Year dc:date.issued

2017

Author dc:creator

• Li, Xinan

DOI

10.48730/4ncx-wa57

Identifier

T14825

Author Identifier

201653447

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:strathclyde:dn39x1578