Three dimensional printing of deformed ankle foot and pelvis using poly lactic acid for pre surgical planning

The performance of surgery on human body is considered to be difficult task due to complex anatomical structure. With evolution of medical imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging and multi detector computed tomography, the radiographic diagnosis has become more informative. Although, these techniques provide high resolution 2D images, however, it is difficult to understand 3D anatomical structures from 2D images. Surface or volume rendering results in 3D virtual images that are difficult to interpret due to large differences between virtual images and real anatomical structures. To overcome the limitation of virtual analysis, the technique of 3D Printing has been devised that plays an important role in customization of implants, tissue engineering and organ printing. The surgeons find pre planning of surgical treatments difficult using 2D CT scan images. Thus, the current study is focused on witnessing the impact of 3D Printing on pre planning of ankle foot and pelvis deformities encountered by doctors of nearby local hospital. It was witnessed that poly lactic acid based 3D printed structures of deformities significantly helped in pre planning of surgical treatments with reduced time consumption and blood loss.

Automated summary

The use of medical imaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography, has made radiographic diagnosis more informative. However, understanding 3D anatomical structures from 2D images is difficult. The technique of 3D Printing has been developed to overcome this limitation and has shown significant improvement in the pre planning of surgical treatments.