Using 3d-printing And Imaging In Burn Mask Production
Ronald K. Akiki, BA1, Albert S. Woo, MD2.
1The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA, 2Department of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University., Providence, RI, USA.
Using 3D-Printing and Imaging in Burn Mask Production
Introduction
Burn masks serve as an essential treatment for the rehabilitation of patients following severe burns to the face. Unfortunately, the standard process of making custom facial orthoses typically requires plaster molding of the face. Especially in younger patients, this process can be painful, scary, and intolerable. To simplify this process, the authors propose the integration of 3D imaging and printing into the production of burn masks.
Methods
To alleviate risks to the patient, a stereographic image of the face is first captured with a 3D-imaging camera (Vectra M5, Canfield). Using these images, an accurate 3D-print of the patient’s face is created (uPrint, Stratasys). Orthotists are then able to use the printed model as a replica of the patient’s face to create the negative mold rather than having to subject the patient to the creation of an alginate model. A “test fit” acrylic mask is then created, which can manually be modified with heat for best fit on the plaster mold (figure 1).
Results
The application of this model on burn patients at our institution has proven to be a simple, quick, effective, and patient-friendly method which has both theoretical and practical advantages over traditional methods.
Conclusion
We report a successful method to produce burn masks using 3D imaging and printing.
Figure 1: 3D-printed face with burn mask. 
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