3D printing the pterygopalatine fossa: a negative space model of a complex structure

Ross Bannon; Shivani Parihar; Yiannis Skarparis; Ourania Varsou; Enis Cezayirli

doi:10.1007/s00276-017-1916-x

3D printing the pterygopalatine fossa: a negative space model of a complex structure

Ross Bannon, Shivani Parihar, Yiannis Skarparis, Ourania Varsou, Enis Cezayirli

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Purpose: The pterygopalatine fossa is one of the most complex anatomical regions to understand. It is poorly visualized in cadaveric dissection and most textbooks rely on schematic depictions. We describe our approach to creating a low-cost, 3D model of the pterygopalatine fossa, including its associated canals and foramina, using an affordable “desktop” 3D printer.
Methods: We used open source software to create a volume render of the pterygopalatine fossa from axial slices of a head computerised tomography scan. These data were then exported to a 3D printer to produce an anatomically accurate model.
Results: The resulting ‘negative space’ model of the pterygopalatine fossa provides a useful and innovative aid for understanding the complex anatomical relationships of the pterygopalatine fossa.
Conclusion: This model was designed primarily for medical students; however, it will also be of interest to postgraduates in ENT, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, and radiology. The technical process described may be replicated by other departments wishing to develop their own anatomical models whilst incurring minimal costs.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	185-191
Number of pages	7
Journal	Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy
Volume	40
Issue number	2
Early online date	30 Aug 2017
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-017-1916-x
Publication status	Published - Feb 2018

Keywords

Pterygopalatine fossa
3D printing
Anatomy education
Model and simulation
3D imaging techniques
Computed tomography

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10.1007/s00276-017-1916-xLicence: CC BY

Bannon_2017_SRA_3Dprinting_CC
© The Author(s) 2017. This article is an open access publication. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Final published version, 1.26 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "3D printing the pterygopalatine fossa: a negative space model of a complex structure",

abstract = "Purpose: The pterygopalatine fossa is one of the most complex anatomical regions to understand. It is poorly visualized in cadaveric dissection and most textbooks rely on schematic depictions. We describe our approach to creating a low-cost, 3D model of the pterygopalatine fossa, including its associated canals and foramina, using an affordable “desktop” 3D printer.Methods: We used open source software to create a volume render of the pterygopalatine fossa from axial slices of a head computerised tomography scan. These data were then exported to a 3D printer to produce an anatomically accurate model.Results: The resulting {\textquoteleft}negative space{\textquoteright} model of the pterygopalatine fossa provides a useful and innovative aid for understanding the complex anatomical relationships of the pterygopalatine fossa.Conclusion: This model was designed primarily for medical students; however, it will also be of interest to postgraduates in ENT, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, and radiology. The technical process described may be replicated by other departments wishing to develop their own anatomical models whilst incurring minimal costs.",

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author = "Ross Bannon and Shivani Parihar and Yiannis Skarparis and Ourania Varsou and Enis Cezayirli",

year = "2018",

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doi = "10.1007/s00276-017-1916-x",

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AU - Skarparis, Yiannis

AU - Varsou, Ourania

AU - Cezayirli, Enis

PY - 2018/2

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N2 - Purpose: The pterygopalatine fossa is one of the most complex anatomical regions to understand. It is poorly visualized in cadaveric dissection and most textbooks rely on schematic depictions. We describe our approach to creating a low-cost, 3D model of the pterygopalatine fossa, including its associated canals and foramina, using an affordable “desktop” 3D printer.Methods: We used open source software to create a volume render of the pterygopalatine fossa from axial slices of a head computerised tomography scan. These data were then exported to a 3D printer to produce an anatomically accurate model.Results: The resulting ‘negative space’ model of the pterygopalatine fossa provides a useful and innovative aid for understanding the complex anatomical relationships of the pterygopalatine fossa.Conclusion: This model was designed primarily for medical students; however, it will also be of interest to postgraduates in ENT, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, and radiology. The technical process described may be replicated by other departments wishing to develop their own anatomical models whilst incurring minimal costs.

AB - Purpose: The pterygopalatine fossa is one of the most complex anatomical regions to understand. It is poorly visualized in cadaveric dissection and most textbooks rely on schematic depictions. We describe our approach to creating a low-cost, 3D model of the pterygopalatine fossa, including its associated canals and foramina, using an affordable “desktop” 3D printer.Methods: We used open source software to create a volume render of the pterygopalatine fossa from axial slices of a head computerised tomography scan. These data were then exported to a 3D printer to produce an anatomically accurate model.Results: The resulting ‘negative space’ model of the pterygopalatine fossa provides a useful and innovative aid for understanding the complex anatomical relationships of the pterygopalatine fossa.Conclusion: This model was designed primarily for medical students; however, it will also be of interest to postgraduates in ENT, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, and radiology. The technical process described may be replicated by other departments wishing to develop their own anatomical models whilst incurring minimal costs.

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JO - Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy

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3D printing the pterygopalatine fossa: a negative space model of a complex structure

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