Plus ID/ Caters News
Brazilian man face prosthesis Plus ID
The full Plus ID process
A cancer survivor in Brazil has become the first person to receive a 3D-printed face prosthesis made with a smartphone after his right eye socket was removed.
Carlito Conceicao, from Sao Paulo was diagnosed with upper maxillary carcinoma, an aggressive form of cancer in the upper palette of the mouth in 2008. The cancer destroyed facial tissue on his right side, half the roof of his mouth and damaged his throat.
Before the cancer could spread to his brain, doctors intervened, performing life-saving surgery which involved the removal of his eye socket. The operation also removed part of his nose and left a gaping hole, sending him into depression.
In February, the 54-year-old, father-of-two, was offered a ground-breaking procedure to reconstruct his face. Using a smartphone for photogrammetry, doctors were able to print a 3D image of the missing part of his face.
Plus ID/ Caters News
Plus ID Brazil 3D printed face prosthesis
Carlito side-by-side the 3D prototype mould.
Dr Rodrigo Salazar, a Peruvian dentist and specialist in oral rehabilitation, who has been doing his PhD at the Paulista University in Sao Paulo, has spearheaded the project over the last two years.
“Brazil doesn’t have the resources to equip all of its clinical centres with high-end technology,” Dr Salazar said. “So, we’ve developed an alternative and simplified low-cost procedure that captures patients’ facial anatomy and generates physical working models, giving us the equivalent results to prostheses produced on state-of-the-art equipment that costs hundreds of thousands of pounds.”
A free-to-buy app called Autodesk 123D Catch was downloaded onto Salazar’s smartphone, which can turn photos into 3D models. Dr Salazar took 15 photos of Carlito’s trauma area in a planned sequence at three differing heights. The photos were then uploaded and converted into a virtual model of Carlito’s face.
“The rational for using a smartphone is that all modern mobile devices have an integrated accelerometer and gyroscope sensor, which are automatically run by the application to guide the operator’s 3D position during the photo capture sequence,” added Dr Salazar. “We mirrored the healthy side of Carlito’s face then digitally sculpted it to fit the trauma side.”
The prototype was then created using a low-cost 3D printer. This mould was used to make a new silicone prosthesis for Carlito, which was hand-finished by volunteer clinical artists. The volunteers added skin colours, texture and realistic wrinkles to give a natural looking fit. Magnets have been used to lock onto three titanium screw embedded under Carlito’s eyebrow to secure and stabilise the attachment.
Since the procedure, Carlito has been impressed with his new prosthesis and his self-esteem has been restored.
Plus ID/ Caters News
Surgeons operate on cancer patient
Dr Luciano Dib performs integration surgery to implant the 3 titanium screws in Carlito's eyebrows.
“My first prosthesis was fragile, poor quality and kept falling off because it was held on by glue. I felt totally disfigured and I looked terrible,” said Carlito. “I lost all my confidence and fell into a deep depression. I couldn’t work and became a recluse because people would stare and point whenever I went out. I used sunglasses to cover up the area most of the time. I was so impressed by the result of the new one, I cried when they fitted it.”
The procedure used on Carlito is called Plus ID, and is being pioneered in Brazil and America as a low-cost alternative for clinical centres without aces to high-cost technology.
Using the Plus ID process, it took doctors less than 20 hours to create the prosthesis for Carlito’s face.
