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The production of digital and printed resources from multiple modalities using visualization and three-dimensional printing techniques

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International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Virtual digital resources and printed models have become indispensable tools for medical training and surgical planning. Nevertheless, printed models of soft tissue organs are still challenging to reproduce. This study adopts open source packages and a low-cost desktop 3D printer to convert multiple modalities of medical images to digital resources (volume rendering images and digital models) and lifelike printed models, which are useful to enhance our understanding of the geometric structure and complex spatial nature of anatomical organs.

Materials and methods

Neuroimaging technologies such as CT, CTA, MRI, and TOF-MRA collect serial medical images. The procedures for producing digital resources can be divided into volume rendering and medical image reconstruction. To verify the accuracy of reconstruction, this study presents qualitative and quantitative assessments. Subsequently, digital models are archived as stereolithography format files and imported to the bundled software of the 3D printer. The printed models are produced using polylactide filament materials.

Results

We have successfully converted multiple modalities of medical images to digital resources and printed models for both hard organs (cranial base and tooth) and soft tissue organs (brain, blood vessels of the brain, the heart chambers and vessel lumen, and pituitary tumor). Multiple digital resources and printed models were provided to illustrate the anatomical relationship between organs and complicated surrounding structures. Three-dimensional printing (3DP) is a powerful tool to produce lifelike and tangible models.

Conclusions

We present an available and cost-effective method for producing both digital resources and printed models. The choice of modality in medical images and the processing approach is important when reproducing soft tissue organs models. The accuracy of the printed model is determined by the quality of organ models and 3DP. With the ongoing improvement of printing techniques and the variety of materials available, 3DP will become an indispensable tool in medical training and surgical planning.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation of China (61402042) and Beijing Natural Science Foundation (4152028).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Wuyang Shui, Mingquan Zhou, Qingqiong Deng & Xingce Wang

  2. Department of Endocrinology, Endocrine Key Laboratory of Ministry of Health, National Virtual Simulation Laboratory Education Center of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China

    Shi Chen

  3. Eight-year Program of Clinical Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China

    Zhouxian Pan

  4. Department of Neurosurgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China

    Yong Yao

  5. Department of Education, National Virtual Simulation Laboratory Education Center of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China

    Hui Pan

  6. Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, 712000, China

    Taiping He

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  1. Wuyang Shui
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shi Chen.

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Conflict of interest

The authors, Wuyang Shui, Mingquan Zhou, Shi Chen, Zhouxian Pan, Qingqiong Deng, Yong Yao, Hui Pan, Taiping He, Xingce Wang, have declared that no competing interests exist.

Ethical approval

The local ethics committee considered that this study had been carried out in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Shui, W., Zhou, M., Chen, S. et al. The production of digital and printed resources from multiple modalities using visualization and three-dimensional printing techniques. Int J CARS 12, 13–23 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-016-1461-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-016-1461-9

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