Researchers Develop MRI-Derived 3-D-Printed Heart Models for Use in Surgical Planning

Researchers have developed a technique to convert Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans into 3-D-printed models of a patient’s heart that takes only a few hours.

The models are intended to enable surgeons to prepare for surgery, and anticipate the anatomical idiosyncrasies of each patient by being able to assess a 3-D model using touch. The current approach that uses a generic model of the heart could hide features that surgeons need to see and feel.


The new system was developed by researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Boston, MA, USA), and Boston Children’s Hospital (Boston, MA, USA) and included manual identifications of boundaries, by an expert, in several cross sections, before computer algorithms continued the process. Manual segmentation of a patch of only one-ninth of the area in 14 cross-sections, and processing by the algorithm, resulted in 90% agreement with expert segmentation of a complete set of 200 cross sections. This combination resulted in a digital, 3-D heart within approximately one hour, while printing a 3-D model took several hours more.

Sitaram Emani, from Boston Children’s Hospital, said, “We have used this type of model in a few patients, and in fact performed ‘virtual surgery’ on the heart to simulate real conditions. Doing this really helped with the real surgery in terms of reducing the amount of time spent examining the heart and performing the repair. I think having this will also reduce the incidence of residual lesions — imperfections in repair — by allowing us to simulate and plan the size and shape of patches to be used.”

Related Links:
MIT
Boston Children’s Hospital