{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T00:52:09Z","timestamp":1790729529756,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2016,7,22]],"date-time":"2016-07-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1469145600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Guangzhou Major Science and Technology Research for People\u2019s livelihood through CEEUSRO Collaborative Innovation","award":["EL2015.20226816.6"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["EL2015.20226816.6"]}]},{"name":"2014 National Natural Science Foundation of China","award":["51405160"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["51405160"]}]},{"name":"specific funds from Guangdong province public welfare and special ability","award":["2014A010104008"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2014A010104008"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In order to meet the clinical requirements of spine surgery, this paper proposes the fabrication of the customized template for spine surgery through computer-aided design. A 3D metal printing-selective laser melting (SLM) technique was employed to directly fabricate the 316L stainless steel template, and the metal template with tiny locating holes was used as an auxiliary tool to insert spinal screws inside the patient\u2019s body. To guarantee accurate fabrication of the template for cervical vertebra operation, the contact face was placed upwards to improve the joint quality between the template and the cervical vertebra. The joint surface of the printed template had a roughness of Ra = 13 \u00b1 2 \u03bcm. After abrasive blasting, the surface roughness was Ra = 7 \u00b1 0.5 \u03bcm. The surgical metal template was bound with the 3D-printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic model. The micro-hardness values determined at the cross-sections of SLM-processed samples varied from HV0.3 250 to HV0.3 280, and the measured tensile strength was in the range of 450 MPa to 560 MPa, which showed that the template had requisite strength. Finally, the metal template was clinically used in the patient\u2019s surgical operation, and the screws were inserted precisely as the result of using the auxiliary template. The geometrical parameters of the template hole (e.g., diameter and wall thickness) were optimized, and measures were taken to optimize the key geometrical units (e.g., hole units) in metal 3D printing. Compared to the traditional technology of screw insertion, the use of the surgical metal template enabled the screws to be inserted more easily and accurately during spinal surgery. However, the design of the high-quality template should fully take into account the clinical demands of surgeons, as well as the advice of the designing engineers and operating technicians.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma9070608","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2016,7,22]],"date-time":"2016-07-22T09:54:45Z","timestamp":1469181285000},"page":"608","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":34,"title":["Design and Fabrication of a Precision Template for Spine Surgery Using Selective Laser Melting (SLM)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Di","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yimeng","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianhua","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hospital of Orthopedics, Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, Liuhua Road, Guangzhou 510010, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Changhui","family":"Song","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yongqiang","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zimian","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hui","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yongqiang","family":"Zhen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hospital of Orthopedics, Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, Liuhua Road, Guangzhou 510010, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Suixiang","family":"Liao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hospital of Orthopedics, Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, Liuhua Road, Guangzhou 510010, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,7,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"127","article-title":"The history of vertebral screw and pedicle screw fixation","volume":"11","author":"Kabins","year":"1991","journal-title":"Iowa Orthop. 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