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This area details issues of importance for patients who could benefit from BioModelling technology. This includes but is not limited to patients undergoing complex surgery in the following areas:
Anatomics can produce plastic BioModels for surgery for all areas listed, and custom BioPart implants made of plastic or titanium for skull and face defects. The use of Anatomics BioModelling technology for surgical planning and custom implant design has been demonstrated to benefit surgical outcomes in over 500 surgeries to date. The following information outlines how you can obtain a BioModel or BioPart implant for use in your surgery.
- To learn about the applications of BioModelling click here
- Click here to see Anatomics BioModelling technology featured in the media
How can I benefit from my surgeon using BioModelling?
Over 11 years of research by Anatomics has shown time and again the benefits of BioModelling for reconstructive surgery. Your surgeon can benefit from BioModelling in the following ways:
A study published by Australian researchers in 1999 indicated that the use of BioModelling in surgery reduced operating times by an average 17.63%
How do I arrange for a BioModel or BioPart to be constructed?
It all starts with you and your surgeon. If you are to undergo surgery to reshape or reconstruct bony features, ask your surgeon about the possibility of using a BioModel as a surgical planning guide. Alternatively, if you are to undergo surgery to correct a skull or face defect by implant, discuss the option of using Anatomics to create an exact custom implant shaped to a plastic BioModel replica of your defect. You or your surgeon can contact us directly via phone, fax, or e-mail to discuss the options.
Once your surgeon has decided that BioModelling would benefit your surgery, your surgeon needs to book you for a 3D CT (Computerised Tomography) scan of the area of interest. We need to be informed of this booking, and we also send the surgeon a BioModelling Request Form for completion. This authorises us to perform the work required. You then attend the Radiology Clinic and undergo the CT scan, which is painless and usually takes no more than 10 minutes. Anatomics then arranges for the CT scan data to be sent to us on tape or disk. Anatomics then uses this data to construct your BioModel and/or BioPart Implant. On completion, the BioModel and/or BioPart is sent via express courier direct to your surgeon. The surgeon can then immediately benefit from the technology, by having an exact replica of your anatomy in his or her hands.
What are the costs involved?
BioModels typically cost from $1200 to $2000 Australian dollars (1 US dollar = approx. 1.4 Australian dollars), and BioParts can cost between $2000 and $5000 Australian depending on size and complexity. If you are visiting a surgeon as a private patient, your health fund should automatically pay for a BioPart implant, as long as your surgeon writes a letter to your health fund before the surgery requesting this. The surgeon needs to specify why a custom implant is considered most beneficial for your surgery. We have a template letter we formulated with the assistance of the Commonwealth Health Department that your surgeon can use for this.
Private patients can apply to their health funds for the cost of BioModels. They can submit our account with a letter from your surgeon outlining why a BioModel was necessary and a request for payment. Health Funds then assess each application on its merits and issues a special ruling. However, there is no guarantee that health funds will reimburse in this instance, as it depends on the strength of the case put by you and your surgeon. Anatomics can supply supporting information about the benefits of BioModelling to health funds in these cases.
Patients attending surgical clinics in public hospitals in Australia and New Zealand typically have their BioModels or BioParts funded by the hospital. This requires the surgeon to request payment of the Head of the Department of Surgery based on a quotation issued by Anatomics.
