DOI: 10.11607/ijp.5975, PubMed ID (PMID): 30677120Pages 97-100, Language: EnglishKoch, George K. / James, Bonface / Gallucci, German O. / Hamilton, AdamPurpose: This in vitro study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of surgical templates fabricated using three different 3D printing technologies.
Materials and Methods: Ten identical surgical templates were printed using four 3D printers (two of an identical make and model). Each of the surgical templates was scanned by a reference scanner and then imported into the inspection software. Inspection software utilized a best-fit alignment to automatically calculate the 3D variation at all points.
Results: Statistically significant differences were found among the three groups (χ2[2] = 12.880, P = .0016). Mean 3D deviation was also significantly different between the two printers of an identical make and model (χ2[1] = 8.251, P = .0041).
Conclusion: All of the tested printers had a high level of accuracy in the fabrication of surgical templates, which would justify the trial of cost-effective printers for clinical fabrication of surgical implant templates.