Investigation of the potential of additive manufacturing in hand surgery
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Program
Publicerad
2021
Författare
Zarkadas, Dimitrios
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
A broken wrist is a common injury after a fall. In most cases, wrist fractures heal
uneventfully. However, in some patients, the forearm bones, radius and/or ulna,
heal in the wrong position, resulting in deformations. These deformations can lead
to a loss of range of motion (ROM) and pain in the wrist. In such cases, corrective
surgery is necessary.
Precise cutting of the bone and insertion of the surgical plate that holds the bone
together after surgery can be aided by custom surgical parts. This is where additive
manufacturing (AM) for biomedical applications offers great potential for customized
solutions according to the patient’s needs. Surgical guides help place cuts and
holes in the right places during surgery. Those guides can be developed during
the planning phase and manufactured using polymer AM. For deformities, where
the standard plate does not fit well enough to allow full mobility of the wrist after
surgery, surgical plates that hold the bone sections in place can be tailored to the
specific patient and fabricated with metal AM.
Through a case study, this Master’s thesis explores and develops application strategies
of AM solutions in reconstructive wrist surgery aiming to create a common
link between surgeons and AM engineers. Current practices and the state of the
art in wrist surgery are explored, in combination with potential AM solutions. An
evaluation of the entire design and manufacturing chain is performed, including consideration
for the unique aspects of biomedical applications such as biocompatibility
and sterilization of the material. A parametric model of a metal surgical plate is
designed and evaluated for use in the case study. Finally future developments required
to fully implement the design and processing chain in the medical field are
highlighted as well as the cases in which AM can be beneficial.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
additive manufacturing , reconstructive wrist surgery , surgery planning , AM biomedical applications , parametric modeling