Design and Rapid Manufacturing of anatomical prosthesis for facial rehabilitation

In this work a novel design and manufacturing procedure have been experimented in order to improve the production of implant-supported nasal prosthesis. The complete workflow was divided into three main steps: data capture, prosthesis design and prosthesis manufacturing. First, the data capturing of the patient’s face was obtained by means of 3D laser scanning. Then, design and manufacturing phases were carried out through CAD–CAM procedures and Rapid Prototyping technologies to obtain the mold for the silicone processing and the substructure for the retention of the prosthesis. Moreover, to design the customized prosthesis based on real anatomic shapes, a novel “Ear&Nose Digital Library” was developed in the framework of a multidisciplinary project with the involvement of students from medicine and engineering faculties. Advantages in terms of improvement of retention and cost reduction are presented.