Using Engineering Tools in the Medical Industry

FIRMA Engineering combines image processing with additive manufacture to improve injury diagnosis and patient understanding in the medical industry.

When an MRI/CT scan is performed it is often up to the ability of the medical professionals to best interpret the model and then convey the information over to a patient to make a decision. Due to the format that the data is supplied in it can often be difficult and time consuming to understand and interpret as a patient. By using image processing and additive manufacture FIRMA Engineering can convert medical images into physical models that both aid medical diagnosis and patient understanding.

In figure 1 below, the example was produced using 640 axial MRI images of an elbow with a bone defect on the outer edge of the humerus. The images were imported into image processing software and masks were created based on the greyscale value that corresponds to the correct density of organic matter that you’re interested in, in this case bone density. Masks can then be stitched together to form surfaces. Surfaces are then exported to a mesh in an object format of your choosing, in this example the mesh is exported to stl.

These meshes can be quite messy and hence need to be trimmed and processed so that the 3D printer can better manufacture the model. Thus, slicing software and mesh modifying software are used to trim the model down to the location of interest and repair any defects/porosity hidden in the model. Figure 2 below shows that you are left with a clean solid model which can now be exported and converted into gcode for manufacture.

Using software the stl is sliced and gcode is prepared for manufacture. Figure 3 below shows the model sliced and the end manufactured product. The location and size of the defect can now be clearly seen. This information can now be used to develop injury understanding, influence any medical procedure decisions, and aid in the explanation of the injury to a patient.

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