Simulated 3D Print Model Of Heart equates Natural Organ

Simulated 3D print model of human organs may help surgeons train and practice before they cut into a patient as designed by researchers at the American Chemical Society, published in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering.

Successful outcomes from complex heart surgeries are anticipated well by surgeons, only upon proper planning and practice on a realistic model. Although the present-day 3D printing techniques have been used to make full-size, sensible models of human organs, they fail to generally replicate the feel or mechanical properties of natural tissue.

‘Simulated 3D print model of human organs may help surgeons train and practice before they cut into a patient. This highlights the feasibility of the method in printing other realistic organ models, such as kidneys or liver, that in turn allows for better anticipation of surgical outcomes.’

Moreover, soft, tissue-like materials, such as silicone rubbers, tend to collapse when 3D printed in air, making it difficult to reproduce large, complex structures.

The present study team thus developed freeform reversible embedding of suspended hydrogels (FRESH) technique, which involves 3D printing soft biomaterials within a gelatin bath to support delicate structures that would otherwise collapse in air. This technique that was earlier limited to only small objects, was adapted by the team to make it to full-size organs.

An inexpensive material called alginate, is made from seaweed, which is known to have the material and mechanical properties similar to cardiac tissue. On placing sutures in a piece of alginate, it held even when stretched. This suggested that the material could be used by the surgeons to practice stitching up a heart model.

In an attempt to make the heart model, the researchers modified their FRESH 3D printer to make larger objects along with magnetic resonance imaging (known as MRI). The MRI scans were taken from a patient to model and print a full-size adult human heart, and also a section of the coronary artery that could be filled with simulated blood.

A structurally accurate, and reproducible model was thus created which could also be handled outside of the gelatin bath. The study highlights the feasibility of this method in printing other realistic organ models, such as kidneys or liver.

Source: Medindia