Ossicular prosthesis and method and system for manufacturing same
AssigneeUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore
InventorsJeffrey Hirsch, David J. Eisenman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed herein is a customized ossicular prosthesis suitable for treatment of conductive hearing loss due to ossicular chain defects, and a method and system for manufacturing the same. Medical imaging equipment can detect specifically designated landmarks in normal human middle ear ossicles, including significant anatomic differences in those structures. Those anatomic features are used to generate a customized ossicular prosthesis specifically configured for a particular patient's anatomy using 3D printing techniques and devices.
Claims15
A method for generating an ossicular prosthesis that is customized to a patient's unique middle ear anatomy, comprising the steps of:
- receiving at a processor image data representing an anatomy of a patient's middle ear from a medical imaging machine;
- converting at said processor said image data representing an anatomy of a patient's middle ear into 3D model data representing an electronic 3D model of an ossicular prosthesis that is customized to a patient's unique middle ear anatomy;
- generating at said processor a data input file configured to instruct a computer controlled manufacturing machine to create a physical ossicular prosthesis conforming to said 3D model;
- and
- transmitting from said processor said data input file to a computer controlled manufacturing machine to cause said computer controlled manufacturing machine to generate said physical ossicular prosthesis.
A system for manufacturing an ossicular prosthesis that is customized to a patient's unique middle ear anatomy, comprising:
- a medical imaging machine;
- a computer system in data communication with said medical imaging machine;
- and
- a computer controlled manufacturing machine in data communication with said computer system;
- said computer system including a processor operably configured to:
- receive at said processor image data representing an anatomy of a patient's middle ear from said medical imaging machine;
- convert at said processor said image data representing an anatomy of a patient's middle ear into 3D model data representing an electronic 3D model of an ossicular prosthesis that is customized to a patient's unique middle ear anatomy;
- generate at said processor a data input file configured to instruct said computer controlled manufacturing machine to create a physical ossicular prosthesis conforming to said 3D model;
- and
- transmit from said processor said data input file to a computer controlled manufacturing machine to cause said computer controlled manufacturing machine to generate said physical ossicular prosthesis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.