title: 3D Printing of CT Dataset: Validation of an Open Source and Consumer-Available Workflow.
abstract: The broad availability of cheap three-dimensional (3D) printing equipment has raised the need for a thorough analysis on its effects on clinical accuracy. Our aim is to determine whether the accuracy of 3D printing process is affected by the use of a low-budget workflow based on open source software and consumer's commercially available 3D printers. A group of test objects was scanned with a 64-slice computed tomography (CT) in order to build their 3D copies. CT datasets were elaborated using a software chain based on three free and open source software. Objects were printed out with a commercially available 3D printer. Both the 3D copies and the test objects were measured using a digital professional caliper. Overall, the objects' mean absolute difference between test objects and 3D copies is 0.23 mm and the mean relative difference amounts to 0.55 %. Our results demonstrate that the accuracy of 3D printing process remains high despite the use of a low-budget workflow.
authors.affiliation: Radiology Department, Ospedale Maggiore di Lodi, Piazzale Donatori di Sangue, Lodi, Italy. chandra.bortolotto@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Chandra
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9193-9309
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bortolotto
authors.affiliation: Radiology Department, Ospedale Maggiore di Lodi, Piazzale Donatori di Sangue, Lodi, Italy.
authors.forename: Esmeralda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eshja
authors.affiliation: Radiology Department, Ospedale Maggiore di Lodi, Piazzale Donatori di Sangue, Lodi, Italy.
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peroni
authors.affiliation: Radiology Department, Ospedale Maggiore di Lodi, Piazzale Donatori di Sangue, Lodi, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Orlandi
authors.affiliation: Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Polo Chirurgico Confortini, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bizzotto
authors.affiliation: Radiology Department, Ospedale Maggiore di Lodi, Piazzale Donatori di Sangue, Lodi, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Poggi
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D066330:Printing, Three-Dimensional / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012984:Software; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D057188:Workflow
keywords: Computer-aided design; Dimensional measurement accuracy; Imaging three-dimensional; Multidetector computed tomography; Printing