Producing a full-scale model from computed tomographic data with the rapid prototyping technique using the binder jet method: a comparison with the laser lithography method using a dry skull.

Rapid prototyping using the binder jet method has recently been established and has already produced excellent results in industrial applications. The authors recently developed a technique for producing a full-scale model from computed tomographic (CT) data with the binder jet method as an approach to overcome the shortcomings of the laser lithography method, which is already widely used in medicine. They conducted a comparative investigation of full-scale models made with both techniques using a dry skull to determine the accuracy of the models. It was clearly demonstrated that the accuracy of the binder jet method was high enough to be used in craniomaxillofacial surgery because it was the same as the laser lithography method. This study employed data from the latest helical volume scan computed tomography device using a multidetector. The study showed that the new rapid prototyping technique was satisfactory in terms of speed, cost, installation environment, and accuracy of models, and that detailed shapes and structures can be reproduced well. Because this technique has many advantages over the laser lithography method, it should play a major role in craniomaxillofacial surgery and in other medical fields in combination with advances in CT devices. Although plaster is a more suitable fixation material when the emphasis is on the reproducibility of detailed structures, the binder jet method using starch is extremely useful for simulating operations and determining implant shapes because it allows for the prompt production of models.