3D Printing Center of Excellence: How accurate models are helping shape procedures and the future

Already at the forefront of clinical research, SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital broke ground on a new challenge in January of 2017 with the opening of the 3D Printing Center of Excellence (COE). The center was co-founded by Alexander Lin, MD, FACS, director of the St. Louis Cleft-Craniofacial Center and chief of Pediatric Plastic Surgery, and by medical director Wilson King, MD, pediatric cardiologist and co-director of cardiac radiology, both SLUCare physicians at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital.

The new center transpired from an established partnership with Stratasys-one of the largest manufacturers of 3D printers in the world, opening a new frontier in the realism of 3D printed prototypes and improving diagnostic precision, procedural and surgical outcomes on-site. 

While Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and Saint Louis University have been leveraging the use of 3D technology for more than 20 years, the new Center is equipped with the revolutionary Stratasys® J750™, the first full-color, multi-material 3D printer on the market. These advanced technologies equip physicians and surgeons with the ability to accurately create and manufacture patient-specific, life-like anatomical models rapidly, using unmatched 3D printed colors and textures that most closely align with human tissues.

“Having the ability to print the patient’s own anatomy into life-sized, three-dimensional models allows us to hold it in our hands, to see it from every angle, and tactilely perform the surgery – even before we step into the operating room,” explained Dr. Lin, SLUCare plastic surgeon. “We can sterilize our printed models and bring them into the operating room, which allows me to have X-ray vision during surgery, as the 3D-printed model shows the anatomy under the tissues. This is especially helpful for pediatric patients who have more compact anatomy, and for us to make even smaller incisions because the 3D model already shows us what we need to see.”

The combination of technological developments, new innovations and advanced software, are benefitting pediatric patients throughout various departments of the hospital and university, including cardiology, orthopedics, neurosurgery, and plastic surgery craniomaxillofacial procedures. Stratasys’ three-dimensional printing technology delivers the unparalleled ability to reproduce any shape, perfectly suited to the uniqueness of an individual’s anatomy, resulting in a model that feels and behaves like the real thing. This kind of realism allows physicians and surgeons to practice on a wide range of abnormal and patient-specific anatomy, determine the optimal approach for surgical intervention, and mimic specific clinical environments for enhanced learning and development.

In pediatric cardiovascular surgery, this technology is instrumental in creating surgical solutions for children with complex congenital heart defects that are otherwise considered inoperable. With the ability to create anatomical models with unrivaled accuracy, it has been a major game-player in helping to cultivate creative solutions for the diverse challenges that impact this vital and complex field of study.

“Being able to visualize patient-specific anatomy in three dimensions prior to surgery is a great advantage,” says Dr. Wilson King, SLUCare pediatric cardiologist. “This technology produces hearts as close to the real organ as a printer can get, complete with the same physical properties and biomechanical characteristics as a human organ. The ability to hold and manipulate the smallest arteries, veins and valves of the heart is invaluable in helping to envision and plan complex repairs.”

Since its inception, the program has printed approximately 200 models for various procedures in plastic surgery (skull, orbits, face, jaws), orthopedics, and neurosurgery, as well as creating hearts, livers and kidneys to assist in cardiovascular procedures and the hospital’s organ transplant program.
For more information, visit https://www.glennon.org/what-we-do/3d-printing-center-of-excellence/.