3D CT Image Printing Technology Devised to Aid Surgeons

Scientists have effectively created three-dimensional (3D) anatomic models from computed tomography (CT) imaging data sets using 3D printing technology, a tool that can be used for physicians and their patients.

A paper on the topic was published April 2013 in the Journal of Visualized Experiments. The approach was introduced the spring of 2013 by then-first-year honors student Evan Doney, from the laboratory of Dr. W. Matthew Leevy, research assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN, USA) Integrated Imaging Facility. “It’s a very clever idea,” Dr. Leevy said. “He did a lot of it independently. He figured out how to convert the tomographic data to a surface map for editing and subsequent 3D printing.”

The article described findings based on using CT data sets from a living Lobund-Wistar rat from the Freimann Life Science Center and from the preserved skull of a New Zealand white rabbit in the laboratory of Dr. Matthew Ravosa. “With proper data collection, surface rendering, and stereolithographic editing, it is now possible and inexpensive to rapidly produce detailed skeletal and soft tissue structures from X-ray CT data,” the authors wrote in their paper. “The translation of preclinical 3D data to a physical object that is an exact copy of the test subject is a powerful tool for visualization and communication, especially for relating imaging research to students, or those in other fields.”

“Our project with 3D printing is part of a broader story about 3D printing in general,” Dr. Leevy said, adding that the work has spawned several more ideas and opportunities, such as providing inexpensive models for anatomy students. “There’s a market for these bones, both from animals and from humans, and we can create them at incredibly low cost. We’re going to explore a lot of these markets.”

A clinical collaborator, Dr. Douglas Liepert from Allied Physicians of Michiana (South Bend, IN, USA), is enabling the researchers to print nonidentifiable human data, expanding the possibilities. “Not only can we print bone structure, but we’re starting to collect patient data and print out the anatomical structure of patients with different disease states to aid doctors in surgical preparation,” Dr. Leevy said.

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