Three-dimensional model of the heart for cardiac surgeons
3D-printed hearts will help save children's lives
Sergey Gray, Hi-News.ru based on the materials of the American Heart Association:
Surgeons use 3D printed model of heart to treat patients with disordersDoctors have come up with a way to use the now popular 3D printers in order to save children's lives even more effectively.
American doctors expressed their ideas at the international Congress of cardiologists, which was held in Chicago.
Replicas of hearts were designed so that the doctor could study every minute detail of the organ with which he will have to work during the operation. Such a life-size model of the heart will allow the doctor to know in advance where to make the incision, how to redirect the blood flow in the best way, as well as how to patch the holes in the heart muscles.
So far, only a few models of children's hearts have been used, but even thanks to them, doctors have already discovered many details important for the success of future operations that they had previously quite often overlooked. Also, thanks to the use of three-dimensional models, a completely new method of treating heart diseases in young children has been developed, which will significantly increase their life expectancy.
"After two operations using three–dimensional models of hearts, we have achieved incredible results," Dr. Matthew Bramlet, a pediatric cardiologist from the University of Illinois, shared his optimism with reporters.
And it's hard to argue with this: 3D-printed models of hearts can significantly improve surgeons' understanding of the defects they have to deal with during many hours of operations. It is especially critical to understand the situation in the case of children's heart diseases because children's hearts, and especially the hearts of infants, are so small that even experienced doctors find it quite difficult not to make a mistake during such an accurate surgical intervention.
It is not difficult to print a model of a child's heart. All you need is an array of data obtained using magnetic resonance imaging, as well as special software for a 3D printer that can convert the original data into a full-fledged three-dimensional layout that the doctor can carefully study. It is thanks to these models that surgeons are able to make much more informed decisions that can prolong, or even save the lives of many children.
The surgeons who developed this method are currently trying to print out as many models of the hearts of their young patients as possible in order to study various pathologies more thoroughly and pass on their knowledge to subsequent generations of doctors. One thing is for sure: the era of 3D printing has made many areas of our life much more convenient and profitable for humanity.
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