How Rapidly Is CAD/CAE Involved In Bioengineering?

Published by - Admin On December 31, 2014

A few decades ago, if a soldier lost an arm or leg in combat, it meant that the soldier would endure misery as a permanently disabled person for the remaining part of his/her life. Today, thanks to CAD technology, amputees and even quadriplegics can have a productive life and even engage in sporting activities, because of prostheses which can be custom-designed and fitted to a patient. As amazing as that is, there is much more that CAD technology is doing in the field of medical science and bioengineering.

This article looks at the role which CAD technology plays in medical technology and bioengineering.

The terms bioengineering and medical technology will be used interchangeably, within the scope of this article, because the scope of this article is limited, only some of these areas will be considered:

Prosthesis and surgical implant design,
Blood flow analysis and modeling of vascular and skeletal systems,
Preoperative surgical planning and computer-assisted surgery,
Diagnostic procedures,
3D printing of dental crowns, bridges and other orthodontic appliances.

What Role Does CAD Technology Play In Designing Prostheses?

Fabrication of prosthetic devices is gradually becoming CAD driven. CAD-driven manufacturing of prostheses provide these benefits:

Residual limb shape can be captured and modified in less time than if conventional methods are used.
Socket fabrication using a CAD-driven automated carving system takes only minutes and still produces accurate results.
Because fewer materials are used with CAD technology, the manufacturing process is cost effective.
CAD technology produces reproducible and accurate 3-dimensional measurements and fitting procedures for prostheses between the stump and socket, because CAD software properly accounts for tissue deformation.
Because limb shape is digitally stored, medical practitioners can quickly and accurately compare changes in an individual’s limb volume over time, find out where those changes are occurring, and monitor the effects of treatments.
In dentistry, CAD software is used to design and manufacture crowns, veneers, on-lays or inlays, bridges, and other restorative dental products. Stratasys®, a leader in 3D printing technology (and other 3D printing companies), make it possible to produce crowns, bridges and orthodontic appliances with quick turn-around time.

What Role Does CAD Technology Plays In Computer-Assisted Surgery?

Because the use of CAD technology in surgical procedures has become ubiquitous, the abbreviation CAS (Computer Assisted Surgery) now describes this CAD-driven technology.

There are many important components of CAS which could be considered as medical disciplines in their own right. For example, medical imaging makes it possible to store accurate digitized measurements for the patient, prior to surgery. These measurements include MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), X-rays, CT (Computer Tomography) scans, and ultrasound measurements.

CAD technology makes it possible to perform 3D analysis of measured data, and to create a virtual 3D model of the patient, prior to surgery. This pre-operative procedure enables the surgeon to map out a surgical navigation path which is least invasive, less traumatic, and speeds up the recovery of the patient after surgery.

Since Intuitive Surgical® introduced the Da Vinci robotic surgical system, CAS has become an integral part of surgical practice.

Compared with conventional non-CAS surgery, some benefits that CAS provides are:

CAS makes it possible to locate and or avoid anatomically important regions such as the optical nerve during surgery. CAS is also useful for pre-planning and guiding the correct anatomical position of displaced bone fragments in fractures, thereby allowing good fixation.
CAS produces minimally invasive surgical approaches and short recovery times. Types of surgeries which benefit tremendously from CAS are laparoscopy (abdominal and gynecological), cholecystectomies, and hysterectomies. In cardiac surgery, CAS enables mitral valve replacement or ventricular pacing by small thoracotomies.
CAS provides superior visualization of the operative field, thus allowing a more accurate preoperative diagnostic and a well-defined surgical planning.
CAS makes it possible for a skilled surgeon to perform remote surgical procedures.

What Role Does CAD Technology Play In Diagnostic Procedures?

As mentioned earlier, CAD-driven measurement tools such as MRI, X-rays, CT, and ultrasound are well-defined and integral components of CAS.

In radiology, computer-aided detection is so important that it has been given the acronym CADx (Computer-aided Diagnosis). The primary purpose of CADx is to assist physicians in interpreting medical images. Voluminous amounts of imaging data are generated from X-rays, MRIs and Ultrasound diagnostics, and it is impossible for a few radiologists to analyze and evaluate so many images in a short time.

Although CAD technology can never replace the expertise of trained physicians, CAD technology expedites and provides verification checks for diagnosing possible diseases.

The following list provides specific examples of measurement techniques which are important for diagnostic procedures:

CAD software is used to assist radiologists with large workloads. For example, in mammography, CAD software highlights areas of abnormality in images, and conveys the information to referring physicians and patients.
CAD software is used to assist radiologists in the detection of vertebral fractures and lung nodules on chest images.
CAD technology is indispensable for creating flexible endoscopic systems.
3D printing is utilized in creating models of injuries and other health issues. This ability enables physicians to develop a more precise personalized treatment plan.

Conclusions

Without doubt, CAS or medically-driven CAD is a well-established discipline in medical practice, and more CAD-driven innovations should be expected in the future.

CAS provides superior visualization of the operative field, thus allowing a more accurate preoperative diagnostic and a well-defined surgical planning.
CAS makes it possible for a skilled surgeon to perform remote surgical procedures.
CAD software assists radiologists with large workloads involving the interpretation and diagnosis of medical images.
3D printing makes it possible to produce crowns, bridges and orthodontic appliances with quick turn-around time. 3D printing is also useful for printing instructional models of the human anatomy for medical education.

Although CAD technology can never replace the expertise of trained physicians, CAD technology expedites and provides verification checks for diagnosing possible diseases, and CAS is less invasive and less traumatic for the patient.

It is reasonable to expect many future innovations and breakthroughs in medical technology or bioengineering to be CAD driven.

– IndiaCADworks