1. Introduction
Cadaveric temporal bones remain the gold-standard for learning temporal bone surgery, where high-quality training is imperative for ensuring patient safety. Nonetheless, limited cadaver availability as well as increasing demand for high-quality training have increased interest in alternatives to cadaveric dissection.1 3D-printing (also called additive manufacturing) is a set of promising technologies, which have been proposed for producing physical models for simulation-based training of temporal bone surgery.2
Despite that 3D-printed models are thought to hold great potential in the context of surgical training, systematic implementation into surgical curricula seems scarce, and evidence on educational effectiveness is limited.2,3 Poor physical resemblance and high costs are also substantial barriers to implementation.4 Only recently has it been documented that training mastoidectomy on 3D-printed models actually improves novices’ surgical performance during subsequent cadaveric dissection (i.e., transfer of skills).5,6
The Copenhagen Temporal Bone model (CTB) is a newly developed model made in a collaboration between the xxx and xxx. The CTB model was developed with the goal of creating a cost-effective, high-fidelity 3D-printed temporal bone model using entry level and commercially available print technologies. In this technical note, we describe the development and manufacturing of the CTB and provide directions and key points to enable other training departments to manufacture their own 3D-printed models for temporal bone training.