Nasal implant design method for making patient customized nasal implants

Abstract

The present application provides a nose implant design method for making a patient customized nose implant, the method comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining medical images of a patient's nose site; (b) automatically realizing three-dimensional volume rendering images of the nose site including skin, bone and cartilage from the medical images of the patient's nose site based on the nose cartilage data learned by artificial intelligence; (c) simulating the nose cartilage in the three-dimensional volume rendering images to suit the patient; (d) placing a nose implant selected from a virtual nose implant model database on the simulated nose cartilage and nose bone; and (e) designing a customized nose implant by simulating the placed nose implant to suit the patient.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a nasal implant design method for making a patient customized nasal implant, in detail, to a method of designing a nasal implant through cartilage operation based on nasal cartilage data learned through artificial intelligence. BACKGROUND

[0002] The nose is a part of the respiratory organ, as well as a sensory organ responsible for olfaction, and is composed of the nose protruding on the face and the nasal cavity constituting the inside thereof in anatomy. Figure 1 is a diagram showing the anatomical structure of the nose. Referring to Figure 1 The entire proportion of the nose from the glabella to the nasal bridge portion is occupied by the nasal bone (nose skeleton) by about 1 / 3 or so, and the entire proportion of the nose from the nasal bridge to the tip of the nose is covered by the upper lateral cartilage and the lower lateral cartilage by about 2 / 3 or so. There is a portion where the nasal bone and the upper lateral cartilage overlap.

[0003] In addition, a nasal implant is implanted on the upper side of the nasal cartilage to correct the shape of the nose, and in recent years, as the concern for appearance of individuals and society increases, rhinoplasty surgery has become popular. In the past, in order to design a nasal implant, CT data of a patient was used. However, although the shape of the nasal bone (nose skeleton) can be achieved by CT scanning, there is a problem that the cartilage portion cannot be confirmed. In the surgery of the nose, the shape of the tip of the nose where the cartilage is located is a very important factor, and therefore in order to make a nasal implant by arbitrarily designing the cartilage from the structure of the nasal bone and the nostril confirmed from the existing CT data, many studies are being conducted.

[0004] For example, Korean Laid-Open Patent No. 10-2019-0131796 (Prior Art 1) relates to a method of manufacturing a nose implant, in which a three-dimensional image of skin, a nasal bone, and a nasal cavity around a nose is acquired by a method of segmenting by adjusting a Housefield Unit (HU) value in a CT image of a nose site, and then a nasal cartilage is designed based on the image [paragraphs 0029, 0030]. Such a segmentation operation is an operation of positioning cartilage data and designing an implant by extracting triangle data of skin, a bone, and a nostril from CT raw data and performing correction. However, in the triangle extraction method (Marching Cube), since a hole or a long triangle, a misjoined triangle, etc. can be generated in a triangle mesh, a correction or smoothing and filling operation is required, and in this case, there is a problem in that an error can become larger. In addition, smoothing (poisson process) of the extracted mesh is to average the position of itself by attaching position information of various triangles of itself, and a slight difference is generated compared to when a triangle is extracted after smoothing a voxel by a node average value in all directions, and there is a problem in that an error becomes larger as the smoothing intensity increases. Also, a large amount of triangle data of a face, a bone, a nostril, etc. needs to be stored and loaded.

[0005] As another example, Korean Registered Patent No. 10-2041524 (Prior Art 2) relates to a method of manufacturing a 3D customized implant, in which a value classified according to a light-dark level of a pixel is converted into a stereolithography (STL) file for 3D imaging using a part of 2D images of a CT image, thereby manufacturing a 3D object including a cartilage. However, the STL file format not only has a considerable data capacity, but also requires a considerable amount of time for conversion into other file formats such as an STP file in order to allow a worker to manipulate.

[0006] Both the above Prior Art 1 and Prior Art 2 are based on general CT data, and a shape of a cartilage form is arbitrarily designed on a nostril by segmenting a bone and the nostril. However, an operation of a cartilage is required to change a shape of a tip of a nose in a surgery of a nose, and a result after the surgery varies depending on such a cartilage operation method, but the above Prior Arts lack consideration of deformation of the cartilage, and thus have limitations in predicting a result after the surgery, and it is difficult to design an accurate customized nose implant for a patient.

[0007] Further, the existing document 1 and the existing document 2 design the bottom surface of the implant based on the designed cartilage, but lack consideration of the contour line of the implant other than the bottom surface. In general, the shape of the nose after surgery depends on the contour line other than the bottom surface of the implant, and thus the design of the implant is an important factor in determining the satisfaction of the nose surgery. In particular, the existing implant molding products have various product groups according to the height, length, contour line, and thus the competitiveness of the existing custom-type implant manufactured through the existing document 1 and the existing document 2 is inevitably reduced compared to the various designs of the existing implant molding products. Depending on the situation, the implant manufacturer selects the parts of the height, length, width, shape, etc. of the implant, which have been numerically, to design the implant reflecting the numerals, but it is difficult to judge the entire three-dimensional shape of the implant using only the numerals simply, and it is difficult to reflect the characteristics of each patient, and thus there is a problem that it is difficult to predict the result after surgery.

[0008] Further, the hospital photographs the CT image of the patient and transmits it to the relevant manufacturer, the relevant manufacturer transmits the cartilage data designed based on the CT data to the hospital, and the surgery of the nose is performed after discussing with the patient based on the cartilage data, and thus the design, ordering, discussion, etc. of the custom-type nose implant require a lot of time, and the patient needs to visit the hospital at least twice or more, and thus is inefficient.

[0009] The result after the surgery of the nose plastic surgery depends on the skill and aesthetic sense of the doctor, and thus there is a need for a method for designing a nose implant that can combine many factors for manufacturing a patient custom-type nose implant. SUMMARY

[0010] Technical Problem to be Solved

[0011] The present application aims to solve the problems of the prior art as described above and the technical problems previously required to be solved.

[0012] In particular, the present application aims to a nose implant design method for manufacturing a patient custom-type nose implant based on nose cartilage data learned by artificial intelligence through cartilage operation.

[0013] Technical Solution

[0014] The present application provides a nose implant design method for making a patient customized nose implant, the method comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining a medical image of a patient's nose site; (b) automatically implementing a three-dimensional volume rendering image of the nose site including skin, bone and cartilage from the medical image of the patient's nose site based on nose cartilage data learned by artificial intelligence; (c) simulating a nose cartilage in the three-dimensional volume rendering image to suit the patient; (d) placing a nose implant selected from a virtual nose implant model database on the simulated nose cartilage and nose bone; and (e) designing a customized nose implant to suit the patient by simulating the placed nose implant.

[0015] In the step (a), the medical image can be a low-dose CT or a low-dose Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) image.

[0016] The step (b) can include a process of predicting a nose cartilage from a medical image of a patient's nose site using a high-dose medical image showing a nose cartilage and based on nose cartilage data learned by machine learning or deep learning.

[0017] In the step (c), the simulation of the nose cartilage can include the steps of: (c-1) selecting a skin thickness from a plurality of options; (c-2) removing a portion of the nose cartilage and the nose bone according to whether to rasp a hump portion; (c-3) setting a movement of the nose cartilage according to whether to perform a tip surgery; and (c-4) correcting a contour line of the nose cartilage to be natural, wherein the steps (c-1) to (c-3) can be performed regardless of the order.

[0018] In the step (c-1), according to the selected skin thickness, a width of the customized nose implant in the step (e) can be automatically adjusted.

[0019] The steps (c-2) and (c-3) can be determined according to a doctor's judgment.

[0020] In the step (c-3), according to the movement of the nose cartilage, a skin thickness can be automatically adjusted.

[0021] The step (c-4) can be a way of filling a gap portion between an upper nose cartilage and a lower nose cartilage constituting the nose cartilage.

[0022] The step (d) can include the steps of (d-1) marking a tip reference point and a glabella variable point on a three-dimensional volume rendering image including a simulated nasal cartilage; (d-2) selecting a nasal implant from a database consisting of virtual nasal implant models of various shapes; and (d-3) placing the selected nasal implant on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone according to an angle of a connecting line of the tip reference point and the glabella variable point marked on the three-dimensional volume rendering image.

[0023] The glabella variable point can be selected from between points 20 mm above the rhinion.

[0024] In the step (d-3), the nasal implant can be combined on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone in a manner of being curved in an upper portion and a lower portion with reference to a hump.

[0025] The step (e) can include the steps of (e-1) adjusting a length, a width, an angle, and a thickness of the nasal implant; and (e-2) confirming whether the nasal implant is combined on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone, automatically filling a gap when not combined, and adjusting only a shape of the implant other than the nasal cartilage and the nasal bone when there is an overlapping portion.

[0026] In the step (e-1), the angle of the nasal implant can be adjusted within 5 degrees left and right in units of 0.2 degrees or 0.5 degrees with reference to a connecting line of the tip reference point and the glabella variable point.

[0027] After the step (e), the steps of (f) cutting an arbitrary face of the customized nasal implant and confirming to confirm whether the customized nasal implant is perfectly combined on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone; and (g) automatically calculating and showing a height change of a skin surface of a nose portion of the customized nasal implant can be further included.

[0028] Information of the customized nasal implant designed can be stored in an encrypted binary file format.

[0029] Advantageous effects

[0030] The present application can automatically perform volume rendering of a nasal cartilage from a medical image of a patient based on nasal cartilage data learned by artificial intelligence, without performing a triangular data operation through segmentation, and thus has a low probability of error, thereby not only improving accuracy but also reducing a storage capacity required for operation, and thus is simple and economical.

[0031] The present application can simulate a position and a shape of a nasal cartilage in a three-dimensional volume rendering image to be suitable for a patient, and thus can improve a prediction value for a result of a nose surgery.

[0032] The present application can simulate a nasal implant selected from a virtual nasal implant model database to suit a patient, and thus can not only accurately reflect the needs of the patient, but also provide esthetics.

[0033] The present application can complete the process of designing a customized nasal implant by consulting a doctor after acquiring a medical image of a patient's nose portion in one visit, and thus is very efficient and can save time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1 is an anatomical view showing a nose.

[0035] Figure 2a and Figure 2b is a view showing a three-dimensional volume rendering image realized from a medical image of a patient's nose portion, Figure 2a shows a skin surface in Figure 2b shows a bone, cartilage, and nasal bone in

[0036] Figure 3a is a view showing a hump portion before filing, Figure 3b is a view showing a hump portion after filing.

[0037] Figure 4 is a view showing a state in which a lower lateral cartilage is raised upward.

[0038] Figure 5 is a view showing a state in which a lower lateral cartilage is lowered downward.

[0039] Figure 6a is a view showing a skin change after raising a lower lateral cartilage upward, Figure 6b is a view showing a skin change after lowering a lower lateral cartilage downward.

[0040] Figure 7a is a view showing a state in which a selected nasal implant is automatically placed on a front-simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone, Figure 7b is a view showing a state in which a nasal implant is curved and placed to be combined on a simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone.

[0041] Figure 8 is a view showing a state in which the length, width, and thickness of a nasal implant of Figure 7b are adjusted to match a cartilage shape.

[0042] Figure 9 is a view showing a cross-sectional shape in a state in which a customized nasal implant is placed.

[0043] Figure 10is a diagram showing a pre-implantation shape of a customized nose implant of the present application (left side) and a shape in which the customized nose implant is implanted to achieve virtual rhinoplasty (right side). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present application will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0045] The present application provides a nose implant design method for making a patient customized nose implant, the method comprising the steps of: (a) acquiring a medical image of a patient nose site; (b) automatically implementing a three-dimensional volume rendering image of the nose site including skin, bone and cartilage from the medical image of the patient nose site based on nose cartilage data learned by artificial intelligence; (c) simulating a nose cartilage in the three-dimensional volume rendering image to suit the patient; (d) placing a nose implant selected from a virtual nose implant model database on the simulated nose cartilage and nose bone; and (e) designing a customized nose implant to suit the patient by simulating the placed nose implant.

[0046] In the step (a), a medical image of a patient nose site can be acquired.

[0047] Herein, the "nose site" can refer to only a nose portion in a narrow sense, but can refer to an entire face including a nose in a broad sense.

[0048] The medical image can be a CT, CBCT, X-ray, MRI, PET, 3D Scanner, etc., but is not limited thereto. In detail, it can be a CT image or a CBCT image.

[0049] Generally, CT images or CBCT images used in orthopedics or the like are low dose. Low-dose medical images have lower clarity than high-dose medical images, but can minimize the exposure radiation dose and are more than 10 times cheaper, so are widely used in small hospitals in orthopedics and the like. It is known in the art how to distinguish between the radiation dose of low-dose medical images and the radiation dose of high-dose medical images, with reference to Christner JA, Kofler JM, McCollough CH, consequences of adopting International Commission on Radiological Protection publication 103 or dual energy scanning, AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2010; 194: 881-889, for example, the radiation dose of the low-dose medical images can be 0.1 mGy or more and less than 2.5 mGy, and the radiation dose of the high-dose medical images can be 2.5 mGy or more and less than 1000 mGy.

[0050] However, although the skin of the nose, the bone of the nose (nasal bone), the nasal cavity, etc. can be photographed with low-dose medical images, the nasal cartilage cannot be confirmed, so a process of designing the cartilage is required. Therefore, since the skin of the nose, the nasal bone, the nasal cavity, and also the nasal cartilage can be confirmed in high-dose medical images, it is possible to acquire nasal cartilage data by repeatedly learning them in the manner of machine learning or deep learning.

[0051] Therefore, the present inventors, through many researches and efforts, confirmed that when the nasal cartilage data acquired through artificial intelligence guided learning is applied to low-dose CT images or low-dose CBCT images that cannot see the nasal cartilage of ordinary orthopedics, the shape of the invisible cartilage can be found, and in particular, the thickness of the cartilage can be found. Therefore, in the step (b), based on the nasal cartilage data learned by artificial intelligence, three-dimensional volume rendering images of the nose site including the skin, the bone, and the cartilage can be automatically implemented from the medical images of the patient's nose site.

[0052] To this end, Figure 2a and Figure 2b are graphs showing three-dimensional volume rendering images implemented from medical images of the patient's nose site, and in particular, in Figure 2b the superior nasal cartilage and the inferior nasal cartilage can be confirmed.

[0053] That is, in the present application, a three-dimensional voxel data is projected as a two-dimensional image by volume rendering from a medical image of a patient's nose part to maintain the original shape and to implement a three-dimensional image including a nasal cartilage, and an implant is designed based on this, instead of extracting a triangular data of skin, bone, and nostril by a segmentation operation and correcting and storing it. Therefore, since a process of arbitrarily forming a cartilage on a nasal cavity is not required, a probability of an error occurring is reduced, thereby improving accuracy, and a storage capacity required for an operation can be reduced, so it is simple and economical.

[0054] When medical image data of a patient's nose part is uploaded to a related software, such a three-dimensional volume rendering image can be automatically generated without the involvement of a staff.

[0055] A shape of a tip of a nose where a nasal cartilage is located is an important factor in determining a patient's satisfaction with a surgery, and thus an operation of a cartilage reflecting a patient's characteristics is required in a process of performing a surgery on a nose. Therefore, the process of simulating a position and a shape of a nasal cartilage to be suitable for a patient in the step (c) of the present application, so that a position and a shape of a nasal cartilage can be simulated to be suitable for a patient, and thus a prediction value for a result of a surgery on a nose can be improved.

[0056] Specifically, the simulation of the nasal cartilage can consist of the following steps: (c-1) selecting a skin thickness from a plurality of options; (c-2) removing a part of a nasal cartilage and a nasal bone according to whether or not to rasp a hump part; (c-3) setting a movement of a nasal cartilage according to whether or not to perform a tip surgery; and (c-4) correcting a contour line of a nasal cartilage to be natural.

[0057] First, even if an implant of the same thickness is implanted, a width of the implant after a surgery can look different in appearance according to a skin thickness of a patient, and thus the width of the implant needs to be reduced when the skin is thick. Therefore, in the plurality of options of the step (c-1), a thickness of the skin is quantitatively or qualitatively expressed, and thus a thickness of the skin can be selected therefrom. For example, the plurality of options can be expressed as selecting one of "skin thickness is thin / ordinary" and "skin thickness is thick", but are not limited thereto. Among them, when the "skin thickness is thick" is selected, a width of a custom-made implant designed later can be automatically reduced by 0.3-0.5 mm from a final result, and in detail, can be reduced by 0.4 mm. Such a numerical value is an optimal value obtained from many studies and surgery data of the applicant before considering aesthetics, functions, etc.

[0058] When the patient has a hawk nose and a hump is formed on the contour line of the cartilage, a part of the nasal cartilage and the nasal bone is required to be removed (a filing process) so that the contour line of the cartilage becomes smooth. Accordingly, in the step (c-2), by the filing process of the hump part, the hump can be removed along the curved surface of the beginning and the end of the range, and made natural. In contrast, Figure 3a is a diagram showing a hump part before filing, Figure 3b is a diagram showing a hump part after filing. In the diagram, Figure 3a the part marked with a gray circle in the diagram is a hump.

[0059] However, when the patient does not have a hawk nose, or even if the patient has a hawk nose, the bottom surface of the nasal implant meeting the contour line of the cartilage can be removed according to the doctor's choice, and thus the step (c-2) can be determined according to the doctor's judgment whether to perform or not.

[0060] The shape of the nasal tip where the cartilage is located is an important factor in determining the patient's satisfaction with the surgery, and thus in the step (c-3), the shape and position of the highest part of the nose, i.e., the nasal tip, can be adjusted by manipulating the lower lateral cartilage. The lower lateral cartilage is composed of two parts on the left and right, and depending on whether the lower lateral cartilage is tied, the direction and distance of the movement of the cartilage can be calculated. For example, the lower lateral cartilage can be moved upward by 1-12 mm to raise the nasal tip, and the lower lateral cartilage can be moved downward to lengthen the short nose, and the angle can also be changed when moving. In this regard, Figure 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the lower lateral cartilage is raised upward to make the nasal tip high, Figure 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the lower lateral cartilage is lowered downward to make the nasal tip low.

[0061] According to the movement of the lower lateral cartilage, the skin also moves together, and the thickness of the skin is automatically adjusted. In this regard, Figure 6a is a diagram showing a change in the skin after the lower lateral cartilage is raised upward, Figure 6b is a diagram showing a change in the skin after the lower lateral cartilage is lowered downward. For example, when the cartilage is moved upward by about 4 mm, the thickness of the skin is thinned by about 1 mm or so. This is because the elasticity of the skin acts due to the implant to be implanted later.

[0062] Such a nasal tip surgery through the movement of the nasal cartilage can reflect the characteristics of the patient and be determined according to the doctor's judgment whether to perform or not.

[0063] The steps (c-1) to (c-3) can be performed regardless of the order, and thereafter, in the step (c-4), the contour line of the nasal cartilage can be corrected to be natural by filling the interval part of the upper lateral cartilage and the lower lateral cartilage constituting the nasal cartilage.

[0064] After that, in step (d), a nasal implant is placed on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone through the above process.

[0065] Specifically, the step (d) includes the following steps: (d-1) marking a tip reference point and a glabella variable point on a three-dimensional volume rendering image including the simulated nasal cartilage; (d-2) selecting a nasal implant from a database consisting of virtual nasal implant models of various shapes; and (d-3) placing the selected nasal implant on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone according to the angle of the connecting line of the tip reference point and the glabella variable point marked on the three-dimensional volume rendering image.

[0066] In the step (d-1), the tip reference point can be the highest part of the nose, and the glabella variable point can be selected from among points 20 mm above the nasal root, which is the lowest part of the nose, but can be moved according to the doctor's needs.

[0067] As described above, in the case of the existing custom-made implant, the bottom surface of the implant is designed based on the arbitrarily designed cartilage on the nostril, but since there is a lack of consideration of the contour line of the implant other than the bottom surface, the competitiveness is inevitably reduced compared to various designs of the existing implant molding products. On the other hand, in the present invention, in the step (d-2), the nasal implant is selected from the virtual nasal implant model database owned by the applicant, so the competitiveness can be improved.

[0068] The 100 or more implants for a rhinoplasty surgery constituting the virtual nasal implant model database are formed into various product groups according to height, length, contour line, and for example, can be identified from the applicant's Korean Patent No. 0759104, Korean Design Patents No. 0729100, 0729098, 0398523, 0398523 Similar 1, 0895587, 0895588, 0895589, 0895590, 0895591, 0895592, 0895593, 0895594, 0895595, 0895596, 0895597, 0895599, 0895600, 0895601, 0972134, 0942611, etc., but are not limited thereto. Such a virtual nasal implant model database can be stored in a corresponding software library.

[0069] In the step (d-3), the selected nose implant can be placed on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone according to the angle of the connecting line of the nasion reference point and the glabella variable point marked on the three-dimensional volume rendering image. In this case, the nose implant is combined and placed in a manner of being based on the hump and being automatically curved along the upper and lower parts of the nasal cartilage and nasal bone, and thus it is possible to prevent a gap from being formed between the nose implant and the nasal cartilage, thereby preventing side effects such as inflammation. At this time, the angle at which the nose implant is curved can be 1 to 15 degrees based on the angle of the connecting line of the nasion reference point and the glabella variable point.

[0070] To this end, Figure 7a is a diagram showing a state in which the selected nose implant is automatically placed on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone in front, Figure 7b is a diagram showing a state in which the nose implant is curved and placed to be combined on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone.

[0071] In the present application, a virtual nose implant is selected from a virtual nose implant model database and placed on the nasal cartilage, and then the virtual nose implant can be simulated to be suitable for a patient, and thus it is possible to not only accurately reflect the needs of the patient but also provide aesthetic sense.

[0072] Specifically, the step (e) can be composed of (e-1) adjusting the length, width, angle, and thickness of the nose implant and (e-2) confirming whether the nose implant is combined on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone, automatically filling a gap when not combined, and adjusting only the shape of the implant other than the nasal cartilage and nasal bone when there is an overlapping portion.

[0073] In the step (e-1), the length, width, angle, and thickness of the nose implant can be adjusted. Such adjustment can be made by inputting "numbers" or using a "bar", and when using the bar, the length of the change can be simultaneously expressed in mm. The angle of the nose implant can be adjusted within 5 degrees to the left and right in units of 0.2 degrees or 0.5 degrees based on the connecting line of the nasion reference point and the glabella variable point, but is not limited thereto. When adjusting the length, width, angle, and thickness of the nose implant, the change in the implant can be immediately confirmed by the naked eye.

[0074] After that, in the step (e-2), it is confirmed whether the nose implant is combined on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone, and when not combined, a gap can be automatically filled, and when there is an overlapping portion, only the shape of the implant other than the nasal cartilage and nasal bone can be adjusted. Such a process can be performed using three-dimensional reconstruction (3D reconstruction) and Boolean operation. To this end, Figure 8 is a diagram showing adjustment ofFigure 7b The diagram shows the state of the nasal implant, which is adjusted in terms of length, width, and thickness to match the shape of the cartilage.

[0075] Following step (e), the following steps may be further included: (f) cutting and confirming any facet of the custom nasal implant to confirm whether the custom nasal implant fits perfectly into the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone; and (g) a virtual plastic surgery step in which the height changes of the skin surface of the nasal area are automatically calculated and displayed using the custom nasal implant.

[0076] In step (f), any cut surface of the customized nasal implant can be confirmed by lines, thus verifying whether the implant integrates perfectly with the cartilage and bone. At this point, the cutting direction can be the direction of the line connecting the nasal tip reference point and the variable point between the eyebrows. Figure 9 This is a diagram showing the shape of a cross section with a custom-made nasal implant in place.

[0077] Next, in step (g), the height change of the skin surface at the nasal site of the customized nasal implant, calculated through volume, is automatically calculated and displayed, thereby achieving virtual plastic surgery. In this regard, Figure 10 This diagram shows the shape of the customized nasal implant of the present invention before implantation (left side) and the shape of the customized nasal implant after implantation to achieve virtual plastic surgery (right side).

[0078] After completing the above steps, the information for the customized nasal implant can be stored in an encrypted binary file format, rather than in a stereolithography (STL) file format.

[0079] Typically, the STL file format is a standard format for storing triangle data. Anyone can read, copy, modify, or edit the content, making it highly vulnerable to intellectual property infringement through unauthorized copying or modification. This invention enhances security by storing the data in an encrypted binary file format in the final step. This encryption method is unrestricted; for example, encryption can be performed by using file storage time to change the order of information in memory and storing it, and decoding can use the storage time to restore the order of the encoded file's information and recover it in memory.

[0080] As described above, the process of designing a customized nasal implant by consulting a doctor after obtaining medical images of the patient's nose can be completed in a minimum of one visit through relevant procedures, which is very efficient and saves time.

Claims

1. A method of designing a nasal implant for making a patient-specific nasal implant, characterized in that, The method comprises the steps of: (a) obtaining a medical image of a patient's nose, the medical image being a low-dose CT or a low-dose cone-beam computed tomography image; (b) automatically implementing a three-dimensional volume rendering image of a patient's nose including skin, bone, and cartilage from the patient's nose medical image based on nasal cartilage data learned by artificial intelligence, wherein the step (b) comprises a process of predicting nasal cartilage from the patient's nose medical image using a high-dose medical image showing nasal cartilage and based on nasal cartilage data learned by deep learning; (c) simulating nasal cartilage in the three-dimensional volume rendering image; (d) placing a nasal implant selected from a virtual nasal implant model database on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone; (e) simulating the placed nasal implant to design a customized nasal implant; (f) cutting any surface of the customized nasal implant and confirming to confirm whether the customized nasal implant is perfectly combined on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone; and (g) automatically calculating and showing a height change of a skin surface of a patient's nose for the customized nasal implant; wherein, in the step (c), the simulation of the nasal cartilage comprises the steps of: (c-1) selecting a skin thickness from a plurality of options, and automatically adjusting a width of the customized nasal implant in the step (e) according to the selected skin thickness; (c-2) removing a portion of the nasal cartilage and the nasal bone according to whether a hump portion is filed; (c-3) setting a movement of the nasal cartilage according to whether a tip surgery is performed, and automatically adjusting a skin thickness according to the movement of the nasal cartilage; and (c-4) correcting a contour line of the nasal cartilage to be natural, wherein the steps (c-1) to (c-3) are performed regardless of the order; wherein the step (e) comprises the steps of: (e-1) adjusting a length, a width, an angle, and a thickness of the nasal implant; and (e-2) confirming whether the nasal implant is combined on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone, automatically filling a gap when not combined, and adjusting only a shape of the implant other than the nasal cartilage and the nasal bone when there is an overlapping portion.

2. The method of designing a nasal implant for fabricating a patient-specific nasal implant according to claim 1, wherein, The step (c-4) is a way of filling a gap portion between upper and lower nasal cartilages constituting the nasal cartilage.

3. The method of designing a nasal implant for fabricating a patient-specific nasal implant according to claim 1, wherein, The step (d) comprises the steps of: (d-1) marking a tip reference point and an inter-brow variable point on the three-dimensional volume rendering image including the simulated nasal cartilage; (d-2) selecting a nasal implant from a database consisting of virtual nasal implant models; and (d-3) placing the selected nasal implant on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone according to an angle of a connecting line of the tip reference point and the inter-brow variable point marked on the three-dimensional volume rendering image.

4. The method of designing a nasal implant for fabricating a patient-specific nasal implant according to claim 3, wherein, The inter-brow variable point is selected from between points 20 mm above a nasal root.

5. The method of designing a nasal implant for fabricating a patient-specific nasal implant according to claim 3, wherein, In the step (d-3), the nasal implant is combined on the simulated nasal cartilage and nasal bone in a manner of being curved upward and downward with reference to a hump.

6. The method of designing a nasal implant for fabricating a patient-specific nasal implant according to claim 1, wherein, In the step (e-1), the angle of the nose implant can be adjusted within 5 degrees to the left or to the right in units of 0.2 degrees or 0.5 degrees with reference to the connecting line of the tip of the nose reference point and the glabella variable point.

7. The method of designing a nasal implant for fabricating a patient-specific nasal implant according to claim 1, wherein, The information of the customized nose implant designed is stored in an encrypted binary file format.

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