R_Bibb_Medical_Modelling_The_Application_of_Adv.pdf

Case studies 205
6.12 Rehabilitation applications case study 5:
Evaluation of advanced technologies in the
design and manufacture of an implant retained
facial prosthesis
6.12.1 Acknowledgements
This case study was written by Dominic Eggbeer and is based on his PhD
research conducted at the National Centre for Product Design and
Development Research (PDR) under the supervision of Richard Bibb and
in collaboration with Morriston Hospital, Swansea. The authors would like
to thank Frank Hartles, Head of the Dental Illustration Unit, Media
Resources Centre, Wales College of Medicine, Biology, Life and Health
Sciences, Cardiff University for his help in using the Konica-Minolta
scanners.
6.12.2 Introduction
Despite the widespread application of computer-aided design and rapid
prototyping (CAD/RP) technologies in the production of medical models
to assist maxillofacial surgery, advanced technologies remain underdeveloped
in the design and fabrication of facial prosthetics. Research
studies to date have achieved some limited success in the application of
CAD/RP technologies, but very few have addressed the whole design and
manufacture process or incorporated all of the necessary components (1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11). In particular, the components concerned with
retention have been neglected. Given that implant retention is now widely
considered state-of-the-art, the incorporation of this into digital facial prosthesis
techniques must be addressed. Implant retained prostheses are
described in medical explanatory note 8.2.1.
Being able to undertake all of the prosthesis design and construction
stages without the patient present has the potential to dramatically reduce
clinic time and make the entire process more fl exible. Reducing the number
of clinic visits and the time involved in them would help to reduce patient
inconvenience and improve effi ciency and fl exibility by allowing the prosthetist
to work on any given design at any period.
This case study is based on part of ongoing doctoral research that ultimately
aims to identify the target specifi cation requirements for advanced
digital technologies that may be used to drive development of advanced
technologies such that they will be suitable for the design and manufacture
of complex, soft tissue facial prostheses. The study reported here tested the
capability of currently available technologies in the design and manufacture
of an implant retained prosthesis. Evaluation of the results will clarify the