Characterising the mould rectification process for designing scoliosis braces: towards automated digital design of 3D-printed braces
File(s)applsci-11-04665-v2.pdf (4.16 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Sanz-Pena, Inigo
Arachchi, Shanika
Halwala-Vithanage, Dhammika
Mallikarachchi, Sanjaya
Kirumbara-Liyanage, Jeewantha
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The plaster-casting method to create a scoliosis brace consists of mould generation and rectification to obtain the desired orthosis geometry. Alternative methods entail the use of 3D scanning and CAD/CAM. However, both manual and digital design entirely rely on the orthotist expertise. Characterisation of the rectification process is needed to ensure that digital designs are as efficient as plaster-cast designs. Three-dimensional scans of five patients, pre-, and post-rectification plaster moulds were obtained using a Structure Mark II scanner. Anatomical landmark positions, transverse section centroids, and 3D surface deviation analyses were performed to characterise the rectification process. The rectification process was characterised using two parameters. First, trends in the external contours of the rectified moulds were found, resulting in lateral tilt angles of 81 ± 3.8° and 83.3 ± 2.6° on the convex and concave side, respectively. Second, a rectification ratio at the iliac crest (0.23 ± 0.04 and 0.11 ± 0.02 on the convex and concave side, respectively) was devised, based on the pelvis width to estimate the volume to be removed. This study demonstrates that steps of the manual rectification process can be characterised. Results from this study can be fed into software to perform automatic digital rectification.
Date Issued
2021-05-19
Date Acceptance
2021-05-18
Citation
Applied Sciences, 2021, 11 (10), pp.1-13
ISSN
2076-3417
Publisher
MDPI AG
Start Page
1
End Page
13
Journal / Book Title
Applied Sciences
Volume
11
Issue
10
Copyright Statement
© 2021 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/10/4665
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-05-19