Science fiction methods in the hospital

Science fiction methods in the hospital

02/22/2015

At a conference in the US, researchers introduced inventions that many would associate with science fiction films. Facial prostheses from the 3D printer or virtual operating tables. In Germany, facial surgery is increasingly relying on digital 3-D technology.

Fungal infection ate through the face
61-year-old Billy Crawford, who had previously been diagnosed with cancer, one day discovered a black spot on his nose, the news agency dpa reported. He struggled with chemo, felt weak, and then his face began to hurt. A fungal infection, compounded by the effects of chemotherapy, ate through the Texan's face within hours. According to the information remained of his skin between the forehead and upper lip and also of one eye hardly more left. The doctors sent the patient home and told him he had one more day to live.

Infection was correctly diagnosed in other clinic
However, Crawford went to another clinic in Dallas where the infection was correctly diagnosed and treated. The Texan survived but was completely disfigured until he met Suzanne Verma at the hospital. The young woman is an anaplastologist - she tries, for example, to enable disfigured people to return to a normal life through prostheses. With his completely disfigured face, Crawford was an absolute hardship for her, Verma reported recently at the conference of the world's largest science association AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) „But he is still the patient who impressed and inspired me the most. His positive attitude to life was just great.“

Face implant was out of the question for the patient
Due to his weakened immune system, the Texan was not suitable for a facial implant. That's why a prosthesis had to be made. Verma applied many novel methods of her field. As the dpa reports, she and her team compared the patient's CT data before and after his infection and created a facial prosthesis model on the PC. Crawford was supposed to be able to put the prosthesis on and off with the help of magnetic implants in his facial bones. She suggested various places for the implants to the surgeon, saved the information on a USB stick and had the prosthesis made using a 3D printer.

3D copies of patients
Verma takes care of the surgery after the surgery to the subtleties of the prosthesis. „At first she looks a bit like when „Phantom of the opera“. But then we correct the color - up to eyebrows, blood veins and freckles. The day Billy first saw his family and friends again, he felt completely restored.“ For the anaplastologist, as well as colleagues in other cities, it's everyday hospital reality, which to some people sounds a bit like science fiction. For example, the physician and researcher James Mah of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, created virtual 3D copies of patients, as he explained at the AAAS conference. According to this, he uses data from, for example, nuclear magnetic and computed tomography to produce 3D images of the patients, which he then projects onto a man-sized computer screen that looks like an operating table. For example, on this screen you can practice surgeries and predict possible outcomes.

Also in Germany is set on modern technology
Another researcher, Eric Tremblay from Lausanne, Switzerland, is experimenting with contact lenses with a kind of integrated telescope. The lenses, worn with special 3D glasses, can be activated with a wink and get a magnifying glass function. So far, there are only prototypes, said the expert at the conference. But maybe his product could already be available in two years time and, above all, help people with severe vision problems. In Germany, too, such techniques are increasingly being used. For example, the dpa reported last year that according to the German Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (DGMKG) within facial surgery, digital 3-D technology and endogenous transplants are increasingly being used. In more and more cases life can be saved and at the same time a high level of quality of life and aesthetics can be achieved.

Video shows patients shortly after receiving the facial prosthesis
Such modern techniques have given Billy Crawford a new life for a few years until he died in 2013. At the AAAS conference, doctor Verma played a video showing the Texan shortly after receiving his facial prosthesis. „I can go back to town with my car, get out and visit friends. I can go to church again. I can come back to life“, Crawford said with joy. „As bad as I am, there are people who are even worse off. One must not drown in self-pity.“ (Ad)