Three-dimensional printing: review of application in medicine and hepatic surgery

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) printing (3DP) is a rapid prototyping technology that has gained increasing recognition in many different fields. Inherent accuracy and low-cost property enable applicability of 3DP in many areas, such as manufacturing, aerospace, medical, and industrial design. Recently, 3DP has gained considerable attention in the medical field. The image data can be quickly turned into physical objects by using 3DP technology. These objects are being used across a variety of surgical specialties. The shortage of cadaver specimens is a major problem in medical education. However, this concern has been solved with the emergence of 3DP model. Custom-made items can be produced by using 3DP technology. This innovation allows 3DP use in preoperative planning and surgical training. Learning is difficult among medical students because of the complex anatomical structures of the liver. Thus, 3D visualization is a useful tool in anatomy teaching and hepatic surgical training. However, conventional models do not capture haptic qualities. 3DP can produce highly accurate and complex physical models. Many types of human or animal differentiated cells can be printed successfully with the development of 3D bio-printing technology. This progress represents a valuable breakthrough that exhibits many potential uses, such as research on drug metabolism or liver disease mechanism. This technology can also be used to solve shortage of organs for transplant in the future.

Personalized Three-Dimensional Printed Models in Congenital Heart Disease

“…Despite useful information provided by these imaging modalities, the images are still limited to be viewed on 2D screens which is very different from the physical models that offer realistic visualization of 3D spatial relationship between normal and anomalous anatomy. 3D printing overcomes this limitation by creating patient-specific or personalized medical models [1,2,3]. The tactile experience offered by 3D printed models is another advantage over traditional image visualizations as the physical models enable comprehensive evaluation of anatomical and pathological structures which cannot be obtained by other methods [4].…”

Consensus recommendations of three-dimensional visualization for diagnosis and management of liver diseases

“…Apart from reconstruction by a 3D visualization software, a further 3D printed model can truly restore the characteristics of the organs in vivo and approximate reality based on 3DVT. The advantages are described as follows [ 54 – 56 ]: (1) the location, size, and shape of the tumor can be faithfully represented, and the relationship between the tumor and vascular systems can be observed from different perspectives. (2) Real-time navigation can be provided during the operation, and vital positions can be identified and located quickly.…”

Identifying a commercially-available 3D printing process that minimizes model distortion after annealing and autoclaving and the effect of steam sterilization on mechanical strength

“…Keywords: 3D printing, 3D printing materials, Additive manufacturing, Annealing, Autoclave, Medical devices, Optimization, Sterilization, Surgical instruments, Polylactic acid Background 3D printing is currently used in the medical field for a wide variety of purposes, including printing patient-personalized anatomical models to guide surgeons preoperatively, creating in-house anatomical models for medical student and resident training, and printing surgical instruments, prostheses, and implants [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. 3D printed models have already been adopted to plan surgeries in fields including, but not limited to, cardiothoracic, craniomaxillofacial, hepatic, neonatal, neurological, ophthalmologic, orthopaedic, and plastic surgery [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Therefore, the accuracy of 3D printed models becomes exceedingly important.…”