Geomagic wrap 2015

For expander volume measurement, two specifications (50 ml and 100 ml) of kidney-shaped soft tissue expanders (Jiusheng Medical Supply, Yuyao, China), which are most commonly applied in expansion auricular reconstructive surgery, were used in this study (Fig. 7).Figure 7

The specifications of the two tissue expanders that are most commonly used in auricular reconstruction. Left 100 ml, right 50 ml.

Three 50 ml expanders were injected with 50 ml, 60 ml, and 70 ml of saline. Five 100 ml expanders were injected with 80, 90, 100, 110, and 120 ml of saline. All eight expanders underwent computed tomography (CT) after injection (Brilliance CT 64 slice, Philips Medical Systems, Cleveland, OH; tube voltage, 120 kVp; tube current, 220 mAs; collimation, 0.6 mm; pitch, 0.8; rotation time, 0.75 s; matrix, 512 512; and field of view, 350 mm). DICOM data were then acquired and imported to ProPlan CMF 3.0 (Materialise NV, Leuven, Belgium), where the injection hose and injection pots were removed manually and STL files of expanders were created. All STL files were then imported into Geomagic Wrap 2015 (3D Systems Inc., Rock Hill, USA), and the surface area of the expanders was measured automatically using the software (Fig. 8).Figure 8

DICOM data of the expanders were processed in ProPlan (above), and the surface area was measured in Geomagic Wrap (below).

A digital full-arch cast with regular mandibular dentition and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) data were obtained from a 35-year-old male patient. Using this digital data, a dental model excluding the left molars but incorporating a plug-in crown-free pedestal in place of the third molar was designed in an engineering software program (Geomagic Wrap 2015; 3D Systems). The model was then printed with DM15 photopolymer resin using a 3D printer (AccuFab-D1s; SHINING 3D). A replaceable resin module printed with VisiJet M3 Stoneplast photopolymer resin using another 3D printer (ProJet MJP 3600; 3D Systems), was used as implant bed to replace the first and second molars. The crown-free pedestal and implant bed could be fixed in the dental model using pins. In addition, to mimic the smooth surfaces of natural teeth, 1 mm thick zirconia crowns covered with enamel porcelain (SHTM; Aidite (Qinhuang Dao) Technology Co., Ltd.) were cemented using self-adhesive resin cement (RelyX U200; 3 M ESPE) on the three teeth adjacent to the edentulous area (Fig. 1). The complete dental model was scanned using an intraoral scanner (TRIOS 3, 3 shape) to acquire the standard tessellation language (STL) files.
Fig. 1

The dental model. (a) 3D printing resin implant bed. (b) Crown-free pedestal