Fabrication of patient specific fasciaform molds for formaldehyde fasciaform grafting tympanoplasty

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Ngo, Raymond Yeow Seng^a | Lee, Heow Pueh^{b; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Otolaryngology, National University Hospital, Singapore | [b] Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Correspondence: [*] Address for correspondence: Heow Pueh Lee, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117576. Tel.: +65 65162205; Fax: +65 67791459; E-mail: mpeleehp@nus.edu.sg.

Abstract: In this paper, we report a procedure for making a patient specific Fasciaform Mold for a Formaldehyde Fasciaform Grafting Tympanoplasty procedure based on Computer Tomography (CT) of the patient's temporal bone. Three dimensional ear canal models were first reconstructed from the CT scans of patients. The models were then used by CNC (Computer Numeric Control) machines for making stainless steel molds as well as rapid prototyping machines for producing acrylic based polymer molds. Both a stainless steel mold and a pair of plastic acrylic molds were produced for Formaldehyde Fasciaform Grafting Tympanoplasty. The procedure is found to be feasible in producing a patient specific fasciaform mold within a reasonable time.

Keywords: Tympanoplasty, formaldehyde fasciaform grafting, fasciaform molds

DOI: 10.3233/THC-2009-0562

Journal: Technology and Health Care, vol. 17, no. 5-6, pp. 411-418, 2009