3D Printed Models of Complex Anatomy in Cardiovascular Disease

Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has undergone rapid developments over the last decades. The application of 3D printing has reached beyond the engineering field to medicine, with research showing many applications in cardiovascular disease. Due to the complexity of the cardiovascular system, application of 3D printing technology has shown potential value to benefit patients with cardiovascular disease. This mini-review provides an overview of applications of 3D printing in cardiovascular disease, with evidence of some of examples using patient-specific 3D printed models in the two common cardiovascular diseases, aortic dissection and abdominal aortic aneurysm

3D printed models of congenital heart disease: How accurate and how useful are they?

Three-dimensional (3D) printing in the domain of congenital heart disease (CHD) is still in its infancy. The aim of this editorial is to highlight the key findings of a recently published systematic review and meta-analysis on the accuracy and clinical value of 3D printed heart models (3DPHM). The analysis found that 3DPHM can be generated with high accuracy and the most reported application of 3DPHM is to facilitate pre-operative planning

Quantitative assessment of 3D printed model accuracy in delineating the normal heart anatomy based on in vitro phantom experiments

Background Although the diagnosis of heart disease has improved with the rapid development of scanning techniques such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and echocardiography, there are still limitations in diagnosing patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) due to its complex morphology. Aims The aim of this study is to use a preserved pig heart for conducting phantom experiments and creating a highly accurate 3D model using 3D printing technique. Methods A palatinate pig heart was used in the phantom experiments to investigate the accuracy of the 3D printed model in comparison with the CT images and 3D segmentation files as well as the real object of the pig’s heart.Results Eight comparisons and scatter plots were generated from six different datasets consisting of pig heart, 3D printed model, two standard tessellation language (STL) files and two CT images data. A strong correlation (r=0.99) was noted in each scatter plot while pig heart and 3D printed model averaging 0.21mm in difference. Conclusion This study has shown that the 3D model which was printed with a pig heart has high accuracy in replicating normal cardiac anatomy

Patient-specific 3D printed model of biliary ducts with congenital cyst

Background: 3D printing has shown great promise in medical applications, with increasing reports in liver diseases. However, research on 3D printing in biliary disease is limited with lack of studies on validation of model accuracy. In this study, we presented our experience of creating a realistic 3D printed model of biliary ducts with congenital cyst. Measurements of anatomical landmarks were compared at different stages of model generation to determine dimensional accuracy. Methods: Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) images of a patient diagnosed with congenital cyst in the common bile duct with dilated hepatic ducts were used to create the 3D printed model. The 3D printed model was scanned on a 64-slice CT scanner using the similar abdominal CT protocol. Measurements of anatomical structures including common hepatic duct (CHD), right hepatic duct (RHD), left hepatic duct (LHD) and the cyst at left to right and anterior to posterior dimensions were performed and compared between original CT images, the standard tessellation language (STL) image and CT images of the 3D model. Results: The 3D printing model was successfully generated with replication of biliary ducts and cyst. Significant differences in measurements of these landmarks were found between the STL and the original CT images, and the CT images of the 3D printed model and the original CT images (

Improved estimates of percolation and anisotropic permeability from 3-D x-ray microtomography using stochastic analyses and visualization

X-ray microtomography (micro-CT) with micron resolution enables new ways of characterizing microstructures and opens pathways for forward calculations of multiscale rock properties. A quantitative characterization of the microstructure is the first step in this challenge. We developed a new approach to extract scale-dependent characteristics of porosity, percolation, and anisotropic permeability from 3-D microstructural models of rocks. The Hoshen-Kopelman algorithm of percolation theory is employed for a standard percolation analysis. The anisotropy of permeability is calculated by means of the star volume\ud distribution approach. The local porosity distribution and local percolation probability are obtained by using the local porosity theory. Additionally, the local anisotropy distribution is defined and analyzed through two empirical probability density functions, the isotropy index and the elongation index. For such a high-resolution data set, the typical data sizes of the CT images are on the order of gigabytes to tens of gigabytes; thus an extremely large number of calculations are required. To resolve this large memory problem parallelization in OpenMP was used to optimally harness the shared memory infrastructure on cache coherent Non-Uniform Memory Access architecture machines such as the iVEC SGI Altix 3700Bx2 Supercomputer. We see adequate visualization of the results as an important element in this first pioneering study

CO2 saturated brine injected into fractured shale: An X-ray micro-tomography in-situ analysis at reservoir conditions

Fracture morphology and permeability are key factors in enhanced gas recovery (EOR) and Carbon Geo-storage (CCS) in shale gas reservoirs as they determine production and injection rates. However, the exact effect of CO2-saturated (live) brine on shale fracture morphology, and how the permeability changes during live brine injection and exposure is only poorly understood. We thus imaged fractured shale samples before and after live brine injection in-situ at high resolution in 3D via X-ray micro-computed tomography. Clearly, the fractures’ aperture and connectivity increased after live brine injection

3D printing rocks for geo-educational, technical, and hobbyist pursuits

© 2017 The Authors. Advancements in 3D printing technologies, availability of online bureaus offering 3D printing services, and affordable high-resolution digital cameras (including those in smartphones) present opportunities for novel ways to visualize and interact with rocks and rock surface data. This paper documents and explores some of these opportunities with examples produced using the full-color binder jetting 3D printing technology. Opportunities include use by geo-educators, geotechnical investigators, museum curators, model railway hobbyists, and others who have a professional or informal interest in rocks and rock outcrops

Interactive Virtual Reality Simulation - A Tool for Improving Understanding of Safety and Environmental Risk Relating to Sustainable Mining Practices

Using case studies, this extended abstract and the associated conference presentation demonstrate that novel technologies used for an application in an advanced mining economy may be leveraged by emerging economies to assist in the development of people working in their local mining industry. The conference presentation reviews the development of virtual reality (VR) simulation and its implementation in industry, discusses some potential barriers to continued development, considers new developments and discusses how human factors may limit VR simulation use in the future, especially with respect to transferring existing systems to new and developing economies. The need for continued industry- and university-level collaboration to develop a sustainable simulator technology industry that can help develop a sustainable mining industry is also discussed

Hybrid surgery cutting using snapping algorithm, volume deformation and haptic interaction

In this paper, we propose algorithms to generate realistic cut simulations on hybrid deformable anatomy objects consisting of volumetric data and iso-surfaces. A 3-dimensional node snapping algorithm is presented to modify the surface topology of the objects, without adding new elements. Smooth cut is generated by duplicating and displacing mass points that have been snapped along the cutting path. A volumetric deformable model is employed underneath the surface, with the internal structure and material properties of the heterogeneous objects revealed along the opening. A 3D Chainmail deformation algorithm is used for the deformation of the volumetric model to enhance the realism. A haptic device is integrated into the simulation system as a cutting tool to trigger the progressive cutting procedure, and to feel the different volumetric components. The simulator incorporates the simulation of surgical prodding, pulling and cutting. Advanced features include the separation on the cut surfaces and post-cutting deformations like wrinkle effect. The proposed cutting techniques can be used in surgical simulation or other virtual simulations involving topological modification of heterogeneous soft materials to enhance the fidelity and realism