Evaluation of the Process and Materials of 3D Printed Bone Models for Use in Education and Presurgical Planning Purposes

 

Introduction: Three-D printed bone models have become more popular in veterinary surgical training and presurgical planning in place of cadaver bones. The purpose of this study was comparing technical and physical features of 3D printed bone models built using different materials to commercially available models.

Materials and Methods: A canine tibia was imaged using a CT scanner and imported into Slicer3D software. Three tibia models were printed using resin (Verowhite plus photopolymer), polylactide (PLA), and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). These were compared with two commercial tibia models (SAWBONES models 2117 and 2108). Each model was drilled in three locations, and subsequently cut transversely. Subjective quality and performance of models, time, and cost of production were compared.

Results: Print times for resin and PLA/ABS models were ~3 and 4 hours, respectively. Unlike the resin and SAWBONES, the PLA and ABS had higher heat generation with construct deformation at cut surfaces. Characteristics of resin, PLA, ABS, followed by 2117 best resembled real bone during drilling and sawing. Production costs were $14.6 (resin), $0.48 (PLA/ABS) $23.50 and $17.50 for SAWBONES 2117 and 2108 models, respectively.

Discussion/Conclusion: The resin performed best and had the closest feel and properties to real bone. Not including the printer costs, the production cost for resin model, although higher than PLA and ABS, was less than SAWBONES. Resin produces higher quality model that withstands the basic orthopaedic procedure simulations and therefore, may justify the production costs.

Acknowledgment: There was no proprietary interest or funding provided for this project.