RP4Baghdad AID Program Completes First Year in Iraq

By DE Editors

One year after the launch of the RP4Baghdad program, an initiativefounded by members of the RPandM (rapid prototyping andmanufacturing) industry, doctors in Iraq report that the project hassupported the successful treatment of more than 45 civilians sufferingfrom severe injuries to the head and face, according to RP4Baghdad.

In addition to aiding in these complex reconstructive surgeries, RP,which produces 3D models from computer-generated designs, is now beingused to produce prosthetic limbs through the program.
“It may come as no surprise that health care facilities in Iraq havedegraded significantly over the last several years,” Dr. Omar Al Ani,an Iraqi surgeon involved in the project was quoted as saying. “TheRP4Baghdad program has given our physicians an invaluable advance intechnology. The models, unlike two-dimensional x-rays, providedetailed, ]3D] replicas of the treatment area, giving both patient andphysician superior pre-surgical information. This results in moreeffective pre-surgical planning, reduced procedure times, and moreprecise fitting of implants and prosthetic limbs.”

Patients identified as candidates for the RP4Baghdad program arereferred to a Baghdad medical facility where craniofacial injuries areCT scanned or amputees have casts made that are, in turn, sent to theUS for laser scanning. The data from the scans is then sent to one offour manufacturing facilities—three in the US and one in Belgium—wherethe data is converted to either a 3D computer model of the anatomy orparts for socket construction in artificial limbs. The model is thenshipped back to Iraq where it used to plan and practice surgery or, inthe case of sockets for prosthetic limbs, is fit to the patients. Themodels or parts usually arrive in Iraq within a few weeks of the CTscan.

By August 2005, more than 300 civilians were wait-listed for artificiallegs in one of three medical centers in Baghdad. Doctors in Iraqbelieve that many more amputees are in need of prosthetic legs but havenot registered for the list due to the backlog.

Fried Vancrean, president and CEO of Materialise and an originator ofthe program, said, “RP4Baghdad displays not only the powerful impact ofadditive fabrication in the field of medicine, but more importantly, aninspiring level of human concern and compassion across our industry.”

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Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.