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Validation of Reverse-Engineered and Additive-Manufactured Microsurgical Instrument Prototype
Ramandeep Singh1, Ashish Suri2, Sneh Anand1
1Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India.
Surgical Innovation
|June 30, 2016
Summary
Additive manufacturing using direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) offers an efficient method for creating novel neurosurgical instrument prototypes. While promising, further validation is needed before clinical application.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Neurosurgery
- Materials Science
Background:
- Neurosurgical procedures demand precise, minimally invasive instruments.
- Traditional subtractive manufacturing is inefficient for prototype development.
- Advancements in imaging necessitate new instrument designs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate additive manufacturing (AM) via direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) for neurosurgical instrument prototypes.
- To assess the accuracy and validity of DMLS-fabricated prototypes.
- To compare AM prototypes with conventionally manufactured instruments.
Main Methods:
- Utilized blue light scanning, computer-aided designing, and DMLS for prototype fabrication.
- Analyzed deviations by superimposing scan data with CAD models.
- Assessed functional validity with 15 neurosurgeons performing sciatic nerve anastomosis in animal models.
Main Results:
- Statistically significant differences were found in force (P < .0001) and surface roughness (P < .01) between DMLS prototypes and control instruments.
- Objective measures further supported these findings.
- DMLS demonstrated effectiveness in creating instrument prototypes.
Conclusions:
- Additive manufacturing by DMLS is an effective method for rapid prototyping of microsurgical instruments.
- Further validation is required for the direct clinical application of DMLS-fabricated instruments in neurosurgery.
