Yr 3 3D Printing of a Human Head Model

The aim of this project was to use 3D printing to develop a human head model which can be used to carry out laboratory investigations for a new technique of imaging the internal structure of human heads. This technique is called electrical impedance tomography (EIT) which has the advantage of being non-ionising, non-invasive, non-radiating, and portable.

The final multi-layered phantom of a human head model was geometrically accurate but not dielectrically accurate.

My focus was to accurately recreate the skull and skin by extracting the relevant data from MRI and CT DICOM images of an anonymised patient who suffered a stroke. This enable the modelling of the internal three-layer bone structure, the suture lines and separating into individual skull sections in CAD. Also, using literature review to establish the appropriate dielectric properties of the materials.

I have worked alongside another student who focused on the soft tissues to enable a complete phantom model to be created.