A CAD/CAM technique for fabricating a Nasal Prosthesis

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to present a method that integrates structured light scanning technique in conjunction with computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) to fabricate a highly realistic nasal prosthesis replica for a patient suffered from a total loss of the nose. Methods: The structured light scanning system was employed to acquire primitive three-dimensional imaging data of the patient's facial defect and a healthy donor nose with the desired shape and size. The scan time for each one is about 5.5 seconds. The acquired data were imported into Imageware software. After eliminating, smoothing, registering and triangulating, both of the three-dimensional image data were transferred into Geomagic studio software, where the donor's nose was segregated and positioned on the patient's deformity. Once the fit was satisfactory, the nose's CAD model was subsequently converted into .stl file format. A resin nasal prosthesis replica was fabricated by FDM system. It can be trial fitted and transformed into wax pattern. Results: The noncontact optical impression procedure eliminates the patient's discomfortable. Three-dimensional data imaging allow visualization of a whole face without distortion. The nasal prosthesis replica has a highly realistic contour and fits the site of deformity well. It can be converted into wax model and silicone prosthesis. Conclusions: The integration of structured light scanning technique, CAD software and RP system provides an approach to the fabrication of highly realistic nasal prostheses. It eliminates dependency on the artistic skills of an experienced anaplastologist. Also, data acquisition is less time consuming. It has obvious advantages over conventional impression techniques.