Manufacturing of Multilayer Replicas of Human Costal Cartilage for Realistic Medical Planning

Autologous ear reconstruction is a surgical procedure which aims to restore the anatomy of the outer ear whenever there are malformations due to congenital defects (microtia) or as a result of trauma and burns. Reconstruction involves the cutting, carving, and modeling of a portion of costal cartilage harvested from the patient. The aesthetic results of the surgery are highly dependent on the manual skill of the surgeon, which therefore needs a wide range of surgical experience. Appropriate simulation and training tools are essential to acquire adequate familiarity with the procedure without compromising the patient’s aesthetic appearance. In such a context, the present work aims to create replicas of the costal cartilage that allow a realistic simulation of the surgery, thus taking into account important characteristics of the cartilage tissue such as the behavior to cut and suture, hardness, etc. The problem is approached with well-established Additive Manufacturing and Reverse Engineering techniques, which are increasingly being used in the medical field, addressing both the problem of identifying the most suitable materials and the possibility of providing medical personnel with simple interactive procedures for the fabrication of multilayer replicas, without the need to turn to expert CAD modelers.