The company leverages the capabilities of Asiga’s MAX UV and PRO 4K printers for rapid prototyping to replicate highly detailed human anatomy, including bone, jaws, teeth, periodontal ligaments, pulp chambers and root canals. This development has created an unprecedented level of educational opportunities in areas such as oral surgery, endodontics, and restorative and implant dentistry. The company has begun to influence and revolutionise the way training is delivered through the creation of biomimetic patient-specific models derived from real patient data.
Background
Over the past decade, 3D-printing technology has made significant strides in improving clinical workflows and outcomes for dentists and patients in dental offices worldwide. By contrast, the use of 3D-printing technology in dental education and simulation training has been extremely limited. The vast majority of training programmes globally still rely heavily on traditional and expensive injection-moulded typodont models that have undergone little change since their inception and introduction to dentistry over a century ago.
As their name suggests, typodont models feature maxillary and mandibular arches of perfect teeth with an idealised occlusion typically manufactured from acrylic or thermosetting plastics which are more difficult to cut than natural teeth. They generally lack the fine intricacies and complexity of natural human anatomy, limiting their potential to accurately simulate real-life presentations in dental practice (Fig. 1).
A new type of virtual reality—replicating life itself
In early 2019, Oratomic4D saw a clear need in the field of dental education and training to develop a new class of patient-specific, biomimetic simulation models that would overcome the limitations of typodont models and improve the experience and learning outcomes for students and dental practitioners carrying out simulation training. Oratomic4D recognised very early in the process the physical and technological challenges it would face in accurately replicating complex human anatomy, and that a new innovative approach would be required.
With its in-house research and development team based at its headquarters they developed novel, patent pending design and manufacturing processes that leveraged the capabilities of Asiga’s MAX UV and PRO 4K printers for rapid prototyping. These new processes ultimately resulted in the successful replication of detailed human anatomy, which included Class D1 and D2 bone, and anatomical jaws, teeth, periodontal ligaments, pulp chambers and root canals.
The development of the true-to-life range of simulation models has created an unprecedented level of educational opportunities in areas such as oral surgery, endodontics, and restorative and implant dentistry. For educators and learners, the addition of the patient-matched CBCT and clinical images to the models from which they were developed offers a brand-new learning experience that accurately simulates diagnostic and treatment processes carried out in the clinical setting. Oratomic4D’s capability of recreating patient-specific models from real patient data has already begun to influence and revolutionise the way students and dental professionals interact, learn and train with models.
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