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. 2017;3(1):12.
doi: 10.1186/s41205-017-0021-4. Epub 2017 Nov 16.

Design and fabrication of a 3D-printed oral stent for head and neck radiotherapy from routine diagnostic imaging

Christopher T Wilke  1   2 , Mohamed Zaid  2 , Caroline Chung  2 , Clifton D Fuller  2 , Abdallah S R Mohamed  2 , Heath Skinner  2 , Jack Phan  2 , G Brandon Gunn  2 , William H Morrison  2 , Adam S Garden  2 , Steven J Frank  2 , David I Rosenthal  2 , Mark S Chambers  3 , Eugene J Koay  2
Affiliations

Design and fabrication of a 3D-printed oral stent for head and neck radiotherapy from routine diagnostic imaging

Christopher T Wilke et al. 3D Print Med. 2017.

Abstract

Background: Oral stents have been shown to reduce the deleterious effects of head and neck radiotherapy through the displacement of normal tissues away from the areas of high dose irradiation. While these stents are commonly used in the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer at many large academic cancer centers, their use is much more limited outside of these institutions due to the time and expertise required for their fabrication.

Results: In the study, we describe a novel method to design and manufacture oral stents from routine computed tomography (CT) imaging studies through the use of 3D printing technologies.

Conclusion: Our proposed method may help to greatly expand access to these beneficial devices for patients undergoing radiation treatment at centers without access to dental and oral/maxillofacial specialists.

Keywords: 3D printing; Head and neck cancer; Oral stent; Radiation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have filed a provisional patent application for the methods described in the manuscript.Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a) Axial, b) coronal and c) sagittal CT images obtained from 3D Slicer depicting the maxillary and mandibular anatomy with d) the corresponding 3D reconstruction
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a) 3D CAD model obtained from the CT image dataset. The mandible was rotated and translated anteriorly and inferiorly to produce b) the jaw position with the desired incisal opening
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Graphical depiction of the process by which the stent is created from the 3D CAD maxillo-mandibular model. a) The rectangular template is overlaid with the mandibular and maxillary dentition to ensure coverage of the entire occlusal surfaces. b) The digital impression of the dentition with the selected incisal opening is created through Boolean subtraction of the patient’s dental anatomy from the template. c) Removal of the excess material to produce a mouth-opening, tongue-depressing stent. d) Smoothing of the external surfaces of the stent created in c) to produce the final product ready for 3D printing
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
a) The 3D printed stent with support structures immediately following removal from the printer. The b) maxillary and c) mandibular occlusal surfaces following support structures removal and post-processing. d A reference oral stent as fabricated by dental oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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