3D restoration and digital prototyping of 13th century late Byzantine era skulls

The use of 3D modeling and printers in the field of health continues to increase and develop day by day. One of the usage areas of 3D modeling is on osteological materials and data. Archiving and preserving ancient bone remains is one of the most important requirements for studies on osteological materials in terms of anatomy, anthropology, forensic sciences and archeological sciences. Old and aged bone structures are deformed over the years and there may be difficulties in their storage. In the thesis study, 33 relatively deformed and late period Byzantine skulls from the 13th century were used in the Osteology Collection of Bursa Uludağ University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anatomy. The skulls were encoded and modeled with a 3D Hscan Prince Laser scanner and stored as a digital archive in STL 3D file format. Deformities were restored as much as possible and the missing bone structures were added to the model, except for the mandible. Digitally restored prototypes were obtained by using "Symmetry Based Reconstruction" and "Geometry Based Reconstruction" methods in the restoration of deformities. Digital measurements between anthropometric points from 3D models and measurements on real bones were compared. SPSS statistics software was used for comparisons. Zaxe X1 printer and PLA type plastic material were used for plastic sampling of the prototyped skulls. We aim to use the old skull materials obtained by scanning in 3D as digitally and in print, prototyping, archiving, obtaining morphometric data close to real bones and using them as more permanent, reusable, more sensitive material for research and education purposes. It is also aimed to print out the historical skulls that have been restored and prototyped with a 3-dimensional printer and to add one hard plastic sample to the archive and education. Keywords: Skull, 3D modeling, restoration, morphometry.