R_Bibb_Medical_Modelling_The_Application_of_Adv.pdf

IMPLEMENTATION
6.1 Implementation case study 1: The development
of a collaborative medical modelling service –
organisational and technical considerations
6.1.1 Acknowledgements
The work described in this case study was fi rst reported in the reference
below and is reproduced here in part or in full with the permission of the
British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
• Sugar A, Bibb R, Morris C, Parkhouse J, ‘The development of a collaborative
medical modelling service: organisational and technical considerations’,
British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 2004,
42 (4), 323–330.
This work has only been possible because of the enthusiasm and hard work
of the entire collaborating team from PDR and Morriston Hospital. In
particular, the authors gratefully acknowledge the work of Peter Evans and
Alan Bocca of the Maxillofacial Unit and Dr E Wyn Jones, Rose Davies
and Sian Bowen of the Radiology Department of Morriston Hospital. We
are also grateful to our neurosurgical colleague, Tim Buxton, who has supported
this project physically and fi nancially since its inception.
6.1.2 Introduction
Medical modelling has been shown to be a valuable aid in the diagnosis of
medical conditions, the planning of surgery and production of prostheses
(1, 2). RP techniques have shown signifi cant advantages over previous
milled models (3). However, the application of the technologies requires
close and effi cient collaboration between radiographers, surgeons, prosthetists
and rapid prototyping service providers. As yet, no optimum method
of achieving this has been demonstrated, and the process is often ad hoc
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