A plastic surgeon 3D scans his clients’ faces with Artec Eva and 3D prints masks to show what their faces will look like after surgery, for the first time in the world.
It’s a trendy tool nowadays with a vast number of practical advantages: firstly, it supplies patients with an object that accurately reflects the end result of a surgical procedure; secondly, it sets realistic expectations for the patient as well as on the limits of surgery; and finally, it serves as a helpful three-dimensional frame of reference for doctors.
In his practice, Dr. Avsar combines the imaging capabilities of Artec’s high-precision 3D scanning hardware with the swiftness of additive manufacturing. With these techniques, he can quickly construct a material, tangible estimation of how a patient will appear after undergoing facial surgery. The results, according to Dr. Avsar, have been met with approval.
3D Scanning a Patient with an Artec Eva
Doctors benefit enormously from this technology. A point of fact, 3D scanning revolutionized Dr. Avşar’s method of mask-making. Before he started using Artec’s Eva digital 3D scanner, he himself sculpted masks for his patients…by hand! It was atime-consuming and laborious task that simply had to be done away with. Even more, the final handmade facial models often went without key details, like color and texture, which could have been of great value to both patient and doctor. Crafting masks is an art in of itself. And while Dr. Avşar was a well-versed craftsman, he was first and foremost a cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon with service demands from patients outpacing supply. Clearly, something had to change.
Firstly, you should start with the face. Scan it only once. Facial expressions do change, therefore additional scans can conflict with the first. Also, ensure that the shoulders or back remain in view. This will help anchor each shot. You can remove them later with the 2D erase brush in editing mode. Finally, scan the top of the head. If the image looks a bit out of sorts, switch Fine Serial Registration algorithm to “Geometry only.”
Fine and Global registration will digitally build the head, and thereafter, Fusion will render the final image. If you find even this method too complex, you can simply activate “Geometry + Texture.” This’ll ease and speed up scanning. You’ll soon be sending your images to your preferred 3D printing provider.
Dr. Yakup Avşar discussing prospective plastic surgery with a patient. Image courtesy of Mcor Technologies.
With the help of 3D scanning, what used to take weeks or even months to complete can now be done in a single doctor’s visit. More than that, patients wishing to undergo cosmetic or reconstructive surgery can now see and feel the results of a procedure they haven’t even gone through with yet.
Featured Technology
Artec Eva 3D Scanner
Artec Eva 3D scanner is the ideal choice for those that need to receive a quick, textured and accurate scan. Eva doesn't require markers or calibration. It captures objects quickly in high resolution and vibrant colour, which allows for almost unlimited applications.
Based on safe-to-use structured light scanning technology, the Artec Eva is an excellent all round solution for capturing objects of almost any kind, including objects with black and shiny surfaces.
Artec Eva’s ease of use, speed and precision has made it an essential product for a wide range of industries. From rapid prototyping to quality control, CGI to heritage preservation, the automotive industry to forensics, medicine and prosthetics to aerospace, the device is used to customize, innovate and streamline countless forward-thinking industries.
“It is what the patients want. Before this, it wasn’t possible for us to show patients exactly what their face would look like following surgery. Enabling them to see and feel the realistic three-dimensional mask of their face gives patients a far greater understanding of the surgical results they can expect. This technology is powerful for patients in everyday practice.”
— Dr. Avsar, AVSAR Aesthetic Surgery Clinic