We are especially pleased to present our edited book in an area that is quickly emerging as one of the most active research areas that integrate both engineering and medicine. Preliminary research results show signi?cant potential in effecting major breakthroughsranging from a reduction in the number of corrective surgeries needed to the ‘scienti?c miracle’ of generating tissue growth. Over $600 million has been in invested in tissue engineering last year alone—a large and signi?cant component of this is in the area of virtual and physical prototyping. Virtual & Physical prototyping can broadly be divided into three categories: Modeling, Manufacturing& Materials. This book focuses on the ?rst part and some areas of the second.The second bookin this series will focuson the areas in the s- ondandthird categories.As youwill see fromthis book,the principlesutilizeddraw heavily from the more traditional engineering?elds including mechanical engine- ing, industrial engineering, civil engineering (structures), electrical engineering and bio engineering. The ?rst chapter by Winder provides an insight into the practicalities of creating custom made implants for the skull details. The concept of cranioplasty, describing the correction of a bone defect or deformity in the cranium using a bio-compatible material, is described and explored from a computational point of view In Chapter 2, Ming Leu and his group of researchers review the use of virtual reality technology for the development of a virtual bone surgery system, which can be used for training in orthopedic surgery and planning of bone surgery procedures.
