Richard van Noort
United Kingdom
Research Article
Investigation of Elastomer Infiltration into 3D Printed Facial Soft Tissue Prostheses
Author(s): Faraedon M Zardawi, Kaida Xiao, Richard van Noort and Julian M YatesFaraedon M Zardawi, Kaida Xiao, Richard van Noort and Julian M Yates
Objectives: 3D colour printing, a method of additive manufacturing, has been developed and utilised to produce facial soft tissue prostheses. This was achieved by layered fabrication of a biocompatible powder held together by an aqueous binder containing a resin and coloured inks, followed by infiltration with a medical grade silicone polymer. The aim of this study was to investigate the elastomer infiltration depths within the 3D printed models. Methods: Three sets of 30 cubes ? 20x20x20 mm ? were used to investigate the infiltration depth of Sil-25 maxillofacial silicone polymer (an MSP) under atmospheric pressure, 2 bar and 3 bar pressure for 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 min. The investigation was also repeated with two other MSPs ? Promax-10 and M-3428 ? under 3 bar pressure. Following infiltration, the cubes were bisected, the internal aspects stained with dye, and the infiltration depth.. View More»
