Rapid prototyping for treatment of canine limb deformities

This report describes Rapid Prototyping (RP) -aided assessment and preoperative planning for treatment of bilateral multifocal pelvic limb deformities in a 1 year old German Shepherd dog. Computed tomography (CT) scans were acquired on a General Electric CT scanner and converted to solid models using Mimics software from Materialise. Stereolithography patterns were prototyped using QuickCast build style on a SLA-190. Room temperature vulcanized silicone molds were constructed and three sets of polyurethane patterns were cast for pre-surgical planning and rehearsal. The paper compares traditional osteotomy planning procedures using only radiographs and 2D CT images to planning with full-scale physical biomodels. The biomodels had a clearly beneficial impact on the accuracy of surgery and positively influenced the clinical outcome.