Design and fabrication of auricular prostheses by CAD/CAM system

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this report is to describe a new technique for fabricating auricular prostheses by a computer-aided design/manufacturing (CAD/CAM) system.

Materials and methods: A spiral CT was performed on a patient who had a right ear defect resulting from an accident. A 3-D image was reconstructed with the CT data. Through image ware, the image of the normal ear was extracted, mirrored, and Boolean operated with the image of the deformed side of the face. It was well modified and smoothed in the FreeForm model system so that it could precisely adapt to the deficient side of the face. A paper model ear was manufactured by rapid prototyping from the digitized data. Finally, silicone was poured into a silicone mold from the paper ear to create a silicone auricular prosthesis.

Results: The dimension, shape, and anatomic contour of the auricular prosthesis were quite similar to those of the normal ear and precisely matched the deformed area.

Conclusion: The CAD/CAM system for creating auricular prostheses appears to be a practical technique.