In the last years, prosthetic techniques have gained increased interest in post oncological reconstruction and in congenital defect treatment. Both the fuctional and the aesthetic characteristics of the prosthesis are crucial, in view of allowing the patient to overcome the social, psychological and economic problems deriving from their handicap.

Traditional reconstruction techniques present a number of lacks: the patient’s discomfort and stress, the inaccuracy of the replicas, and the dependence on the artistic skills of an experienced prosthetist. In addition, the mould production process is cumbersome, and time consuming. Finally, the overall process is not adaptive, i.e., whenever the existing prothesis should be replaced, the overall process must be carried out from scratch.

The purpose of this research activity is to develop a novel approach that combines optical three-dimensional acquisition, reverse engineering (RE) and rapid prototyping (RP) for the prosthetic reconstruction of facial prostheses.