Viewing the heart up close in all its complexity was once only possible during surgery. But specialists at Children’s of Alabama are increasingly tapping the ability to create 3D heart models that help them to better plan intricate surgeries before they take place.
With 3D printing technology becoming far less expensive since its creation about a decade ago, Children’s has been printing hearts for about two years. The arrival of Christian Tan, M.D., a PGY-5 pediatric cardiology fellow at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), has prompted an uptick in its use as he collaborates with specialists in Radiology and Imaging, which operates Children’s 3D printer.
“This provides an additional way for us as providers to assess and look at the anatomy of the heart,” Tan explained. “It gives you different insight when you’re actually able to hold and look at a model and see it from many different perspectives. We can do some of that with digital 3D constructions from CT scans, but it’s different when you can manipulate the heart with your hands and see it from any vantage point.”
Using various materials, including a harder, plastic resin and a softer, rubber-like substance, Children’s 3D printer produces models that realistically portray the heart itself along with outside structures such as the aortic arch and pulmonary arteries, Tan said.
The printer cost several thousand dollars, but 3D heart models cost around $12 apiece to produce, he noted. For a recent surgery on a newborn, the 3D model helped cardiac surgeons determine which pathway from the left ventricle to the great arteries would work best for the repair needed. Specialists at Children’s perform about 450 such surgeries each year on patients born with congenital heart defects.
“It helps the surgeon with some mental planning for the surgery, and it helps the cardiologist understand the anatomy better so when it’s explained to the surgeon, the findings are clearer,” Tan said.
Parents also appreciate the ability to “see” their children’s hearts, he added.
“This also helps us explain the anatomy to parents, especially those with no medical background,” Tan said. “It can be hard to understand the difficult problems these kids have.”
“I think it’s very meaningful to the parents,” he added. “In addition to being an educational tool, parents find it a way to connect to their children when they can see their kid’s heart.”
