Exploring photogrammetry as an indirect route in additive manufacturing: A case study to print bio-metric splint

Abstract

Some of the most common medical cases medical professionals see every day are bone fractures. If not treated properly, it may lead to other severe situations like non-union or exceedingly delayed union of bone fragments. The most common treatment for bone fractures incorporates orthopedic casts, traditionally made of Plaster of Paris. But these traditional casts have drawbacks like high maintenance due to the material used, prone to spontaneous disintegration and most importantly, they are a generalized solution, meaning they cannot adapt to differences that varies from person to person. To solve this problem, one innovative solution is using splint which has specialized core material and outer fabric making it optimal for sufficient support and comfort. It is engineered to be easily removed by just unstrapping and takes a shorter time to be made. The downside to this is the splints are not custom-designed to fit different individuals. To overcome this, reverse engineering techniques can be used to create 3D replicas of a person’s limb which, requires a splint and then use it to speed up the splint manufacturing process using additive manufacturing. Close range photogrammetry is a reverse engineering technique where 2D images of an object are clicked at multiple angles, and these images are combined using standard software to render a 3D model. The significance and purpose of this paper are to provide user-friendly, customized and more reliable splints that can be easily and time-efficiently manufactured.