After losing her right eye and part of her jaw to cancer, a Brazilian woman is getting a new face thanks to a digitally-engineered prosthesis.
Last Updated Tuesday, January 7, 2020 7:34AM EST
Researchers at Paulista University are employing smartphones and 3D printing to create digital facial impressions used to make silicone prostheses."In the past, it took much longer work, hours of sculpting by hand, and the process was very invasive, with material on the patient's face to get an imprint of their appearance," says Rodrigo Salazar, the lead researcher.Fitting the facial prosthesis is a meticulous process.
"At places like the bowling alley, I felt them looking, and the person would even leave when they saw me." "I saw people at the mall do 3D printing, so I thought, 'Why can't we use that for prostheses?'" he says.Dib implanted titanium rods in her eye socket to hold the prosthesis.Using a smartphone, Salazar took 15 pictures of her face from different angles, which were used to make a three-dimensional digital model.Technicians then 3D-printed a prototype prosthesis which they used to make the final one from silicone, resin and synthetic fibers.
Conventional techniques for making prosthesis models involve equipment costing up to $500,000, he says. Their method requires a computer and a smartphone.
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