The Evaluation of Usefulness of 3D Printing for Cardiac Surgery

Kuk Hui Son¹, Chi Bum Ahn², Chang Hu Choi¹, Chul Hyun Park¹, Kook Yang Park¹

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Gachon University, Incheon, Republic of Korea¹ ,Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea²

Background : The usefulness of 3D printer in the medical field is newly issued. Especially several studies have been done related with the usefulness of 3D printing for the surgical planning. The detail planning of cardiac surgery is essential to decrease surgical time. We evaluated the usefulness of 3D printing for the surgical planning of cardiac surgery.

Methods : We used 4 patients CT image (1 of the TOF case, 1 of the TA, 1 of coronary artery obstruction disease, and 1 of the cardiac mass). After converting the CT image into a 3D image using Mimics Base version 16 (Materialize, Leuven, Belgium), the segmented 3D image was stored as a stereolithography (STL) file. The file was then sent to a 3D printer (uPrint, Stratasys Ltd, MN, US) and a 3D model of the heart was printed.

Results : The printed TOF and TA model showed good anatomical shape of great vessels. However the models were not proper to confirm the right ventricular muscle structure. The 3D reconstructed image of coronary artery obstruction disease showed good anatomical shape of coronary arteries, but it was not possible to do 3D printing because of interrupted part of coronary arteries. The cardiac mass 3D printed model showed good anatomical relationship between the heart and the mass.

Conclusion : The usefulness of 3D printing for cardiac surgery planning is different depending on disease. In case of congenital heart disease, the 3D printing is useful for surgical planning.

책임저자: 박국양

가천대학교 의과대학 흉부외과학교실

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