The Preliminary Research of Drill Guide Template Design for Pedicle Screw Placement with a Low-Cost 3D Pinter

The purpose of this study is illustrated the potential of applying the additive manufacturing (AM) technology with a low-cost three-dimensional (3D) printer on clinical applications of spine surgeries. First, the target vertebrae will be extracted from the computed tomography (CT) images of a patient and converted to a 3D polyhedral model. After choosing the target regions of pedicle screws in this 3D polyhedral model, the optimal screw angles and depths will be obtained without injuring the spinal cord. Then, a drill guide template of pedicle screws will be developed by using an AM software, and fabricated by a low-cost 3D printer. The doctor can utilize it to buckle the specific designed position of the vertebrae of the patient, and drill directly through the guide hole during the scoliosis surgery. These steps can reduce the surgical time substantially. Finally, several cases were executed to verify the placement accuracy of drill guide templates fabricated by the low-cost 3D printer.