Breaking Barriers in Maxillofacial Treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Central Scanning recently provided additional 3D scanners to the Maxillofacial department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

The Maxillofacial department treats patients with a variety of medical conditions affecting the mouth, jaws, face and neck. These conditions can sometimes require facial scanning. For example, burn victims, orthognathic patients and IED victims.

The hospital also uses scanning for pre-surgical defects and for scanning medical plates/implants to use for Virtual Surgical Planning.

However, the department faced the challenge of providing detailed scans of patients’ facial profiles, dental casts, and other body parts to aid in treatment and surgical planning. Traditional scanning methods, such as manual measurements and two-dimensional imaging, were insufficient for the hospital’s needs.

This is where Central Scanning came in. The hospital implemented 3D scanning solutions to address this challenge using the Artec Micro and Artec Eva scanners and the Artec Studio software. The Artec Eva scanner was used to take patients’ facial profiles, which were then converted into STL files and edited using in-house software.

3D scanning solutions at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham have greatly improved the accuracy and detail of the scans. This has allowed the hospital to provide better patient treatment and surgical planning.

For burns victims, the 3D model of the patient’s face is used as a compression therapy mask to treat the scars over time.

For orthognathic surgery, the hospital imports STLs of the dental casts into the 3D planning software, which is created by scanning the dental cast using the Artec Micro.

The hospital also uses 3D scanners to assist in the production of prosthetics. By scanning the patient’s non-defect side, such as the ear, with the Artec Eva or scanning a patient’s impression with the Artec Micro, the hospital can 3D print a mirrored version of the model for the prosthetist to use as a reference.

Stefan Edmondson, head of Maxillofacial, said “Thank you to Nick and Alex at Central Scanning for the continued support and loan. The 4th Emergency service!”

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