Anatomical Model For R&D
Virtual planning and 3D printing customized ear model help for research.
The Model helps to study the optimal head position after intratympanic steroid injections to enhance drug bioavailability.
Tel-Aviv Medical Center.
A high-resolution CT scan of the healthy temporal bone and surrounding soft tissue was segmented and reconstructed to a 3D model.
The tympanic membrane was perforated in the posterior-inferior quadrant. Methylene blue-stained 10-mg/mL dexamethasone was administered to the middle ear cleft, after which a 3-dimensional rotation in space was performed to hypothesize the optimal position in relation to gravity. The same stereolithography file used for the actual model was used for a digital virtual liquid flow simulation. The optimal head position was defined as the one with the maximum vertical distance between the round window membrane and the plane of the aditus ad antrum and eustachian tube orifice.