The University of Ulster is taking a 'model' approach to furthering research into helping patients suffering from severe skull defects.

The Faculties of Engineering and Life and Health Sciences at the University have announced a joint project to produce physical models of the skull defects - holes in the bone caused either by injury or surgery - to enable hospital technicians to create exactly matching titanium plates used to repair the damage.

Patients who need the titanium plates will be given a routine CT scan in hospital. The image will then be used by the university to create precise models of the defect.

The model is then sent to the RVH School of Dentistry in Belfast, where the titanium plate is cut to size and shape. The final plate is then fitted to the patient by a neurosurgeon.

According to scientist Dr John Winder of the Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, the computer-aided process improves the accuracy of the titanium plate with less time in theatre and a more beneficial cosmetic outcome for the patient.

The use of titanium plates to repair holes in the skull was pioneered at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, largely in response to the number of head injuries caused by the violence of the early days of the Troubles.

Now the University of Ulster is hoping to update the process even further. The academics are exploring the possibility of automating the process of creating the skull models and cutting and shaping the titanium plates.

(MB)