Rapid prototyping and reverse engineering application for orthopedic surgery planning

This paper describes rapid prototyping (RP) and reverse engineering (RE) application for orthopedic surgery planning to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the orthopedic surgery. Using the symmetrical characteristics of the human body, CAD data of undamaged bone of the injured area are generated from a mirror transformation Of undamaged bone data for the uninjured area. The physical model before the injury is manufactured from Polyjet RP process. The surgical plan, including the selection of the proper implant, pre-forming of the implant and decision of fixation positions, etc., is determined by a physical simulation using the physical model. In order to examine the applicability and efficiency Of the Surgical planning technology, two case studies, Such as a distal tibia comminuted fracture and an iliac wing fracture of pelvis, are carried Out. From the results of the examination, it has been shown that the RP and RE can be applied to orthopedic surgical planning and can be an efficient surgical tool.