Fused Deposition Modeling for Surgical Support.

Dr. Charles Richardson

National Naval Medical Center

This presentation will focus on our experiences at the National Naval Medical Center with Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) in direct support of surgical treatment planning and as an adjunctive service of the Radiology Department.  Following conventional 3D visualization with volume rendering and stereoscopy, physical modeling of anatomic and pathologic structures provides a "hold-in-your-hand" realism that has proved very helpful in surgical planning.  The models have been found to be particularly useful in craniofacial and maxillofacial reconstructions, intracranial aneurysms, and unusual orthopedic injuries. Various cases will be presented and the technology of FDM versus laser-epoxy stereolithography will be discussed.