Application of 3D Printing in the Construction of Burr Hole Ring for Deep Brain Stimulation Implants

Summary

Here, we present a protocol to demonstrate 3D printing in the construction of deep brain stimulation implants.

Abstract

3D printing has been widely applied in the medical field since the 1980s, especially in surgery, such as preoperative simulation, anatomical learning and surgical training. This raises the possibility of using 3D printing to construct a neurosurgical implant. Our previous works took the construction of the burr hole ring as an example, described the process of using softwares like computer aided design (CAD), Pro/Engineer (Pro/E) and 3D printer to construct physical products. That is, a total of three steps are required, the drawing of 2D-image, the construction of 3D-image of burr hole ring, and using a 3D printer to print the physical model of burr hole ring. This protocol shows that the burr hole ring made of carbon fiber can be rapidly and accurately molded by 3D printing. It indicated that both CAD and Pro/E softwares can be used to construct the burr hole ring via integrating with the clinical imaging data and further applied 3D printing to make the individual consumables.

Introduction

3D printing has been applied in the medical field since the 1980s, especially in surgery for preoperative simulation, anatomical learning and surgical training¹. For example, in cerebrovascular operations, preoperative simulation can be conducted by using 3D printed vascular models². With the development of 3D printing, the texture, temperature, structure and weight of cerebral blood vessels can be simulated to the greatest extent of clinical scenarios. Trainees can perform surgical operations such as cutting and clamping on such models. This training is very important for the surgeons^3,

Protocol

1. Drawing a two dimensional (2D)-image of a burr hole ring

1. Open the 2D computer aided design (CAD) software and then create a graphical document.
2. Click Draw | Line and draw a reference point with a solid line on the drawing. Click Modify | Offset, and type the specific offset distance in the command line.
3. Click on the object and press by the left mouse button to create a solid line. Click Modify | Trim, select the area to be trimmed and click on the extra line.
4. Take the inner burr hole ring for example, draw three different views of the inner ring based on the predetermined s....

Results

Three views of 2D images were built through commercial CAD software (see the Table of Materials). In these images, practical size and technical requirements have also been added (Figure 1). Further, three-dimensional data were constructed in (Figure 2) and saved in STL format (Figure 3). As presented in Figure 4, solid parts were built on the platform of.......

Discussion

These results showed that the software used were practicable to build 3D models of burr hole rings (Figure 1 and Figure 2), and 3D printing can be used to build solid models with designated materials (Figure 4). In terms of the size of the solid model, there was an absolute error from 0 to 0.59 mm determined through the measurement made by Vernier calipers (Figure 6). To some extent, the error is unavoi.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Adobe Photoshop Version 14.0	Adobe System?US	_	Only available with a paid subscription.
Allcct 3D printer	Allcct technology co., LTD, WuHan, China	201807A794124CN
Allcct_YinKe_V1.1	Allcct technology co., LTD, WuHan, China		The software is provided by the 3D printer manufacturer and there is no Catalog number associated with it
AutoCAD 2004	Autodesk co., LTD?US	666-12345678	Software for 2D models
Carbon Fibre	Allcct technology co., LTD, WuHan, China	PLA175Ø5181Ø3ØB	The material is provided by the 3D printer manufacturer
Netfabb Studio Basic 4.9	Autodesk co., LTD?US	-	The software is provided by a 3D printer manufacturer and is open to access
Pro/E 2001	Parametric Technology Corporation, PTC, US	_	Software for 3D models; Only available with a paid subscription.
Vernier caliper	Beijing Blue Light Machinery Electricity Instrument Co,. LTD, China	GB/T 1214.1-1996