3-D Printing and Computer Aided Design Aids Structural Heart Interventions
Hospitals say 3-D modeling helps preplan procedures and reduce complications, number of devices used and procedure time
An example of 3-D computer aided design (CAD) software from Materialise being used at Henry Ford Hospital to evaluate left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction from a Sapian TAVR valve virtually implanted in the mitral valve position. Henry Ford uses both 3-D printing and CAD to plan and guide complex structural heart procedures.
With increasing complexity of interventional structural heart disease and congenital heart disease interventions, 3-D printing of the anatomy is being used for pre-planning and practicing procedures, device sizing and as a visual reference for the soft tissue during procedures. 3-D printing has become more popular within the medical space as it has been shown to help prevent, fix and foresee procedural errors.