RapidNAM: Generative manufacturing approach of nasoalveolar molding devices for presurgical cleft lip and palate treatment

Franz Xaver Bauer, Markus Schönberger, Johannes Gattinger, Markus Eblenkamp, Erich Wintermantel, Andrea Rau, Florian Dieter Güll, Klaus Dietrich Wolff, Denys J. Loeffelbein

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nasoalveolar molding (NAM) is an accepted treatment strategy in presurgical cleft therapy. The major drawbacks of the treatment listed in the literature relate to the time of the treatment and the coordination of the required interdisciplinary team of therapists, parents, and patients. To overcome these limitations, we present the automated RapidNAM concept that facilitates the design and manufacturing process of NAM devices, and that allows the virtual modification and subsequent manufacture of the devices in advance, with a growth prediction factor adapted to the patient's natural growth. The RapidNAM concept involves (i) the prediction of three trajectories that envelope the fragmented alveolar segments with the goal to mimic a harmonic arch, (ii) the extrusion from the larger toward the smaller alveolar segment along the envelope curves toward the harmonic upper alveolar arch, and (iii) the generation of the NAM device with a ventilation hole, fixation pin, and fixation points for the nasal stents. A feasibility study for a vector-based approach was successfully conducted for unilateral and bilateral cleft lip and palate (CLP) patients. A comparison of the modified target models with the reference target models showed similar results. For further improvement, the number of landmarks used to modify the models was increased by a curve-based approach.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)407-414
Number of pages8
JournalBiomedizinische Technik
Volume62
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 28 Aug 2017

Keywords

  • envelope curves
  • growth prediction factor
  • nasal stent
  • nasoalveolar molding
  • virtual planning

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