Methodology of Low Cost Rapid Manufacturing of Anatomical Models with Material Imitation of Soft Tissues

Pre-operative preparation of the surgeon is more and more often extended to individual patient's anatomical models depicting the ill organ and the existing change in relation to the surrounding structures (e.g. blood vessels). Among the models there are models of the skeletal system, to which the FFF technology is used. Models of parenchymal organs are more difficult to reproduce due to material limitations in FFF technology, which is why alternative technologies such as PolyJet and SLA are used. Due to the high price of models, they are less frequently used in, especially in Polish hospitals. The research presented in the article deals with the subject of modification of the existing methodology of rapid production of pre-operative models with the use of various low-budget techniques of rapid manufacturing, which use materials of low hardness, similar to human soft tissues. The aim is to create a methodology and determine the parameters of materials that allow for the cheap production of functional pre-operational aids.