The Use of 3D Printed Vasculature for Simulation-based Medical Education Within Interventional Radiology

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has become a useful tool within the field of medicine as a way to produce custom anatomical models for teaching, surgical planning, and patient education. This technology is quickly becoming a key component in simulation-based medical education (SBME) to teach hands-on spatial perception and tactile feedback. Within fields such as interventional radiology (IR), this approach to SBME is also thought to be an ideal instructional method, providing an accurate and economical means to study human anatomy and vasculature. Such anatomical details can be extracted from patient-specific and anonymized CT or MRI scans for the purpose of teaching or analyzing patient-specific anatomy. There is evidence that 3D printing in IR can also optimize procedural training, so learners can rehearse procedures under fluoroscopy while receiving immediate supervisory feedback. Such training advancements in IR hold the potential to reduce procedural operating time, thus reducing the amount of time a patient is exposed to radiation and anaesthetia. Using a program evaluation approach, the purpose of this technical report is to describe the development and application of 3D-printed vasculature models within a radiology interest group to determine their efficacy as supplementary learning tools to traditional, lecture-based teaching. The study involved 30 medical students of varying years in their education, involved in the interest group at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). The session was one hour in length and began with a Powerpoint presentation demonstrating the insertion of guide wires and stents using 3D-printed vasculature models. Participants had the opportunity to use the models to attempt several procedures demonstrated during the lecture. These attempts were supervised by an educational expert/facilitator. A survey was completed by all 30 undergraduate medical students and returned to the facilitators, who compiled the quantitative data to evaluate the efficacy of the 3D-printed models as an adjunct to the traditional didactic teaching within IR. The majority of feedback was positive, supporting the use of 3D=printed vasculature as an additional tactile training method for medical students within an IR academic setting. The hands-on experience provides a valuable training approach, with more opportunities for the rehearsal of high-acuity, low-occurrence (HALO) procedures performed in IR.

Evaluation of 3D printing in planning, practicing, and training for endovascular lower extremity arterial interventions

“…In a similar fashion, previously, 3D models have been used for educational purposes to rehearse insertion of guidewires and stents together, giving the sense of human arterial texture. [ 12 ] It was concluded that 3D models were superior to conventional teaching models for anatomical teaching and femoral vessel access training. [ 13 ]…”

Evaluating the Use of a Generic Three-Dimensionally (3D) Printed Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Model as an Adjunct Patient Education Tool

“…The 3D printed AAA model used in this study was a re-print of the AAA pathology model used in a study by Goudie et al [3]. The 3D printed AAA model ( Figure 1) and product evaluation surveys ( Figure 2) were distributed to a few Experts at St. Clare's Mercy Hospital in St. John's, Newfoundland.…”

“…The 3D printed AAA model used in this study was a re-print of the AAA pathology model used in a study by Goudie et al [ 3 ]. The model was printed in TPU95A (NinjaFlex Cheetah, Fenner Drives, Inc., Hessle, UK) on an Ultimaker 3 3D printer.…”

“…In recent years, the accessibility of three-dimensional (3D) printing has allowed for advancements in patient care and simulation-based medical education (SBME) within academia and clinical practice [1]. Interventional radiology, for example, can utilize such technology to extract patient-specific vasculature from Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) scans and rapidly prototype models for the rehearsal of high-acuity procedures [2,3]. Vasculature models can then be used for patient education purposes, or more commonly for medical student and resident training.…”

“…This is achieved through the insertion of a series of synthetic tubes that have metal mesh supports in the aneurysm sac and securing them to the proximal and distal part of the sac [9]. This procedure is often carried out under fluoroscopic guidance by vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists along with their residents in training [3]. To improve success rates of such procedures, increased SBME is required prior to performing the procedure on an actual patient.…”