NE HEALTH BUREAU
CHENNAI, FEB 6
Bringing the original face to those sustained severe injuries in accidents is possible with the help of 3D Printing technology and it is affordable for all as the cost has come down drastically, said Dentist Karthik, CEO of Chennai-based Zoriox Innovation Laboratories.
Addressing the reporters on the sidelines of a symposium on “the First 3D Technology in Facial Reconstruction” organized by the Zoriox Innovation Laboratory, Dr. Karthik and his tech team said, “People with facial deformities no longer have to wait or worry about getting it corrected due to the innovative strides in 3D technology in the medical field.’’
Facial reconstructive surgery is performed to reconstruct structures in the head and neck — usually the orbit, cranial vault, jaw, nose, ears, chin, cheekbones, and dentition.
Tumor, mal-alignment, trauma, bone deformities, birth defects, cancer are some of the reasons why people seek facial reconstructive surgery.
Facial reconstructive surgery is also widely used to reverse the signs of aging, remove contour irregularities, or make the features of the face appear in proportion with one another.
“Facial reconstructive surgery has always been a challenge for surgeons due to a lack of resources since all surgeries cannot be planned just by x-rays and CT scans. We need more technical assistance to perform these surgeries in a precise manner since symmetry is particularly important for facial structures. So, the innovative 3D printing technology is now a boon to doctors. It all started with printing a 3D model of the face with the help of the CT scan,” Dr Karthik said.
Now it has developed to such a level that even fractures and repositioning of the bone can be planned digitally with the help of 3D printing software and facial implants can be designed and manufactured in such a way that deformities can be corrected.
Gone are the days where complicated and expensive dental implant systems were used to replace teeth. Using these 3D printed patient-specific EZ-Implants the whole procedure has become a cost-effective solution for both patients and doctors.
The spectacular advantages of using this 3D printing innovative technology in facial reconstruction are:
- Time taken for planning designing is substantially reduced.
- Surgery using this 3D printed technology will be minimally invasive to enable proper healing.
- Virtual surgical planning which helps in performing the surgery in a precise manner
- Less armamentarium which lessens the burden on the doctors
- Need for grafting is considerably reduced which helps in donor side morbidity.
- Using 3D printed patient specific biocompatible Titanium alloy implants to restore form and function.
- Potential risks arising due to surgery are substantially reduced.
- Cost-effective solution for both the patients as well as doctors.
The team of doctors said the success rate of using 3D printing technology in facial reconstruction is very good. Once considered as cosmetic surgery for rich people, now becomes affordable even for common people, as the cost of operation would be nearly one-fourth of the cost, Dr. Karthik said.
Zoriox Lab is planning to conduct regular training sessions at its state-of-the-art Center of Excellence (COE) to equip doctors with this innovative 3D printing technology in the healthcare industry.
Expanding wings to other cities
The company is planning to take Zoriox COE to other cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, etc., and internationally as well shortly.
Future roadmap
Zoriox is also delighted to present our future roadmap for research and production of biocompatible material enabling faster osteointegration on the titanium implants and virtual surgical platform to remotely perform surgeries using robotics.
The core Zoriox Team are: Dr Karthik Founder, CEO;. Chaitanya Director, CEO & Prasanna Kumar TEK Director, CEO, John N Angelo, Chief Strategist, Dr. Arvind, Sai Planning & Business Development Head, Balaji Designing & Technical Head & Naren Production & Testing and Dr. Krithika.
Orbital Reconstruction using EZ-Recon – a success story
A 36 – year old man met with an accident involving his right eye and underwent multiple surgeries to correct it. He was unhappy with the results and approached Dr. Balaguhan, one of the finest Cranio-Maxillofacial surgeons in chennai to correct it. Dr. Balaguhan found that the orbital volume was disrupted resulting in improper positioning of the eye. The surgeon who was well versed with 3D printing approached ZORIOX to design a patient specific reconstruction plate (EZ RECON) to restore the normal anatomy of the right orbital cavity. The plate was designed and 3D printed with biocompatible titanium. The surgeon felt extremely comfortable to use while performing the surgery and both the surgeon and the patient were happy with the results. Dr. Balaguhan found this technology extremely useful in this complicated scenario.
