Release date: 2016-09-12
In January, a 9-year-old Singaporean girl underwent surgery at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) for complicated congenital heart disease, but this is not an ordinary operation. Before entering the operating room, the hospital's two doctors had the girl's 3D printed heart model, the size of the real heart. Dr. Chen from the Hospital Heart Center conducted a diagnosis and 3D imaging of the girl and said that the 3D printed heart model made them "feel good" during the surgery.
The operation was very successful. Looking ahead, as doctors use 3D printing to help them perform complex surgical procedures, the application of 3D printed heart models should become more common.
Recently, a rare condition has occurred in a baby: the left ventricle has two outlets. This results in lower blood oxygen levels and requires surgery to treat. Although the surgery has not been scheduled, doctors have determined that 3D printing technology will be used during surgery.
Yesterday, doctors said that 3D printing technology is very useful in complex congenital heart surgery, especially those involving young children, because their heart will be smaller.
Dr. Chen said that using the usual 2D imaging technology is enough to treat simpler congenital heart disease, but a more complicated condition would be better with a 3D heart model. "The heart is a moving structure... Therefore, 2D imaging methods often lack critical spatial information," Dr. Chen said.
Hospitals in other parts of the world have also begun to use 3D printed models in heart surgery, and American hospitals have done so long since last year.
Nakao Masakazu, a consultant at the KKH Cardiothoracic Surgery Center, says that more than 200 heart attacks are performed every year in KKH, with complex congenital heart disease accounting for 1% to 2%, and a 3D printed heart model will come in handy.
Children's hearts are smaller than adults, and some congenital heart diseases are complex. Therefore, congenital heart disease surgery is more challenging than adult heart surgery. In addition, unlike countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, Singapore lacks child heart specimens, which means that these 3D printed heart models can also be used for learning purposes and to develop implantable devices.
It takes about two hours to print the heart model. Before printing, software is required to process the patient's MRI scan, which produces a 3D image of the heart. This image is then sent to the printer to print out the 3D model.
However, the cost of each 3D printed heart model is between $2,000 and $3,000, which is a disadvantage in the popularization of the 3D printed heart model.
The Bamboo Foot Women and Children Hospital is working with Materialsise and Creatz3D, but the hospital is also considering setting up its own 3D printing facility.
(Compiled from the Straits Times)
Source: Tiangongshe
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