November 15

Cranial Implant – Healing against time

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Due to a serious injury a patient lost a fragment of the skull. To create a cranial implant using traditional methods meant higher costs, multiple iterations and numerous days, all extremely scarce resources that could lead to potentially fatal results. To complicate matters further, the deformity was so severe that the original piece of bone was rendered completely unusable. The case needed fresh thinking and Imaginarium was approached for help.

Challenge

Going by the conventional way, a Titanium mesh would have to be made of the size of the skull that had to be replaced. Since no physical model of the existing condition could be made, the skin would have to be cut open to measure the exact size of the damage. The mesh, made using subtractive manufacturing would require a lot of grounding work to fit the skull precisely, resulting in waste of material, and increase in manufacturing costs, apart from involving an ample amount of time.

Solution

Imaginarium closely collaborated with the doctors to create an accurate CAD model of the skull. Based on the CAD we then produced a titanium implant that fit the patient’s skull perfectly. Along with the implant, the 3D model also helped the doctors plan the surgery with precision. Not only was the solution more cost-effective and time-saving, it helped the doctors correct a near-irreparable damage with zero margin of error.

Technology used

  • X ray and CT scan data for accuracy, 3D CAD modelling, printed in Titanium using EBM.

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