Discovering the barriers to scaling a co-design approach for the provision of custom assistive technology within healthcare services.

Using computer-aided design and 3D printing within a co-design process to produce assistive technology (AT) has a positive impact in delivering customised solutions to end-users' needs. However, to date its adoption within healthcare services has been limited. This work aims to gather clinicians' insights to identify and analyse barriers inherent in the AT design, manufacturing, and provision processes and inform a detailed understanding of the current AT eco-system.

Patient specific total temporomandibular joint reconstruction: A review of biomaterial, designs, fabrication and outcomes.

Purpose: The aim of this article was to systematically review the available literature on patient specific total temporomandibular joint total joint replacement (PS-TMJR) implants for their biomaterial, designs, fabrication techniques and their outcomes.

Methods: A literature review was conducted using PubMed, and science direct databases using the key words three-dimensional printing, 3D printing, CAD CAM, computer aided designing, computer aided manufacturing, additive technology, custom made implants, patient specific implants in combination with Temporomandibular joint, TMJ surgery.

Results: The search revealed 2760 articles, of which 374 were in English and discussed TMJ reconstruction.

Evaluating additive manufacturing for the production of custom head supports: A comparison against a commercial head support under static loading conditions.

The provision of wheelchair seating accessories, such as head supports, is often limited to the use of commercial products. Additive manufacturing has the potential to produce custom seating components, but there are very few examples of published work. This article reports a method of utilising 3D scanning, computer-aided design and additive manufacturing for the fabrication of a custom head support for a wheelchair.

Additively manufactured versus conventionally pressed cranioplasty implants: An accuracy comparison.

This article compared the accuracy of producing patient-specific cranioplasty implants using four different approaches. Benchmark geometry was designed to represent a cranium and a defect added simulating a craniectomy. An 'ideal' contour reconstruction was calculated and compared against reconstructions resulting from the four approaches -'conventional', 'semi-digital', 'digital - non-automated' and 'digital - semi-automated'.

Evolution of design considerations in complex craniofacial reconstruction using patient-specific implants.

Previously published evidence has established major clinical benefits from using computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, and additive manufacturing to produce patient-specific devices. These include cutting guides, drilling guides, positioning guides, and implants. However, custom devices produced using these methods are still not in routine use, particularly by the UK National Health Service.

Fabrication of a resin appliance with alloy components using digital technology without an analog impression.

The aim of this study was to fabricate a resin appliance incorporating "wire" components without the use of an analog impression and dental casts using an intraoral scanner and computer technology to build the appliance. This unique alignment of technology offers an enormous reduction in the number of fabrication steps when compared with more traditional methods of manufacture. The prototype incorporated 2 Adams clasps and a fitted labial bow.

A Comparative Analysis of the Corrosive Effect of Artificial Saliva of Variable pH on DMLS and Cast Co-Cr-Mo Dental Alloy.

Dental alloys for direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) are available on the market today, but there is little scientific evidence reported on their characteristics. One of them is the release of ions, as an indicator of the corrosion characteristics of a dental alloy. Within this research, the difference in the elution of metals from DMLS and cast (CM) samples of Co-Cr-Mo dental alloy in saliva-like medium of three different pH was examined by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

Design and fabrication of a sleep apnea device using computer-aided design/additive manufacture technologies.

The aim of this study was to analyze the latest innovations in additive manufacture techniques and uniquely apply them to dentistry, to build a sleep apnea device requiring rotating hinges. Laser scanning was used to capture the three-dimensional topography of an upper and lower dental cast. The data sets were imported into an appropriate computer-aided design software environment, which was used to design a sleep apnea device.

CAD/CAM/AM applications in the manufacture of dental appliances.

The purposes of this study were to apply the latest developments in additive manufacturing (AM) construction and to evaluate the effectiveness of these computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) techniques in the production of dental appliances. In addition, a new method of incorporating wire into a single build was developed. A scanner was used to capture 3-dimensional images of Class II Division 1 dental models that were translated onto a 2-dimensional computer screen.

Evaluation of direct and indirect additive manufacture of maxillofacial prostheses.

The efficacy of computer-aided technologies in the design and manufacture of maxillofacial prostheses has not been fully proven. This paper presents research into the evaluation of direct and indirect additive manufacture of a maxillofacial prosthesis against conventional laboratory-based techniques. An implant/magnet-retained nasal prosthesis case from a UK maxillofacial unit was selected as a case study.

Use of CAD/CAM technology to fabricate a removable partial denture framework.

This article reports on the first patient-fitted chromium cobalt removable partial denture framework produced by computer-assisted design, computer-assisted manufacture and rapid prototype technologies. Once the dental cast was scanned, virtual surveying and design of the framework on a 3-dimensional computer model was accomplished. A rapid prototype machine was used for direct fabrication of the alloy framework.

Toward identifying specification requirements for digital bone-anchored prosthesis design incorporating substructure fabrication: a pilot study.

Purpose: This paper is the first in a series that aims to identify the specification requirements for advanced digital technologies that may be used to design and fabricate complex, soft tissue facial prostheses.

Materials And Methods: Following a review of previously reported techniques, appropriate and currently available technologies were selected and applied in a pilot study. This study uses a range of optical surface scanning, computerized tomography, computer-aided design, and rapid prototyping technologies to capture, design, and fabricate a bone-anchored auricular prosthesis, including the retentive components.