The objective of this paper is to propose a new technology of the orthopaedic surgery using the combination of reverse engineering (RE) based on CT data and rapid prototyping (RP). The proposed technology utilizes symmetrical characteristics of the human body and capability of the combination of RE and RP, which rapidly manufactures three￢dimensional parts from CT data. The original .stl data of injured extents are generated from the mirror transformation of .stl file for uninjured extents. The physical shape before injuring is manufactured from RP using the original .stl data. Subsequently, pre-operative planning, such as a selection of proper implants, preforming of the implant, a decision of fixation locations and an insert position for the implant, an estimation of the invasive size, and pre-education of operators are performed using the physical shape. In order to examine the applicability and the efficiency of the proposed surgical technology, various case studies, such as a distal tibia comminuted fracture, a proximal tibia plateau fracture and an iliac wing fracture of pelvis, are carried out. From the results of case studies, it has been shown that the proposed technology is an effective surgical tool of the orthopaedic surgery reducing the operational time, the operational cost, the radiation exposure of the patient and operators, and morbidity. In addition, the proposed technology could improve the accuracy of operation and the speed of rehabilitation.
