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M O N T H 2 0 1 4 | S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
There are efforts being made, from trying to replicate bone structures right up to
printing entire organs of varying complexity. Printing an entire implantable heart
is, I think, many years away. It doesn't just need to be an anatomical fit, it also has
to be embedded with the functionality of a beating heart, with all its valves and
connectivity to the nervous system. It's very complex, and much easier replicating
bone structures and parts that have less functionality.
Initial feedback
Still to be resolved is whether the intuitive translates into the actual: Will being
able to scrutinize, and rehearse on, lifelike replicas before surgery result in bet-
ter outcomes?
The initial feedback from surgeons is that it helps them with planning and it
increases their confidence. But we'll need to show in clinical trials the actual ben-
efits. So far we've only done a few models and gotten feedback on those. We
haven't done the clinical studies that are needed to compare the scientific impact
of similar procedures with and without models. That's something that we're aim-
ing to do.
Proponents will also have to ensure that the printers can be operated with
sufficient expertise. The printing is very precise, with resolution much, much
smaller than a millimeter, but it still depends on imaging, so if you don't do a
good job creating the initial image, the printed model won't replicate the real
anatomy. It all has to work together — good imaging, good processing of the
images, and what we call segmentation — outlining on the digital model what
should be printed and what's just noise and should not be printed.
Cost concerns
Expense is bound to be another potential limiting factor, with price tags for high-
end 3D printers currently running in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Their resolution has gotten significantly better, the materials they use have
gotten better and they've gotten faster. Although printer and material costs have
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