1. Figure 1 Cardiovascular 3D printing workflow
Figure 1 | Cardiovascular 3D printing workflow. 3D printing can be completed in-house in a dedicated 3D printing laboratory, or it can be partially or fully outsourced. 3D printing applications include advanced visualization for diagnosis and interventional planning or simulation, research, education, and patient–physician communication. After establishing an appropriate clinical indication, 3D printing typically begins with the acquisition of high-quality volumetric images from CT, CT angiography (CTA), magnetic resonance (MR), MR angiography (MRA), transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE), transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), or 3D rotational angiography. The second step, postprocessing of the image data, includes segmentation or selection of the anatomy of interest in the source images. The anatomical representation is then transformed into a standard tessellation language (STL) file, a file format interpreted by 3D printers. Postprocessing also involves the manipulation of the STL file with the aid of computer-aided design software. Computer-aided design modelling includes, but is not limited to, STL file optimization for printing (smoothing), exemplifying the anatomy of interest (trimming), and device designing (patches). Important considerations for the final step, 3D printing the model, are the selection of the 3D printing hardware, materials, and postprocessing of the physical model. Common examples of considerations at this step are described in the respective boxes. The CT-derived cardiac model is reprinted from Anwar, S. et al. 3D printing in complex congenital heart disease: across a spectrum of age, pathology, and imaging techniques. JACC Cardiovasc. Imaging (2016) with permission from Elsevier. The 3D TEE image and respective 3D-printed model are reprinted from Mahmood, F. et al. Three-dimensional printing of mitral valve using echocardiographic data. JACC Cardiovasc. Imaging 8, 227–229 (2015) with permission from Elsevier. The 3D rotational angiography image and respective 3D-printed model are reprinted from Poterucha, J. et al. Percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation in a native outflow tract: 3-dimensional DynaCT rotational angiographic reconstruction and 3-dimensional printed model. JACC Cardiovasc. Interv. 7, e151–e152 (2014) with permission from Elsevier.
The CT‑derived cardiac model is reprinted from Anwar, S. et al. 3D printing in complex congenital
heart disease: across a spectrum of age, pathology, and imaging techniques. JACC Cardiovasc. Imaging
(2016) with permission from Elsevier. The 3D TEE image and respective
3D‑printed model are reprinted from Mahmood, F. et al. Three-dimensional printing of mitral valve using echocardiographic data.
JACC Cardiovasc. Imaging 8, 227– 229 (2015) with permission from Elsevier. The 3D rotational angiography image and respective 3D‑printed
model are reprinted from Poterucha, J. et al. Percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation in a native outflow tract: 3‑dimensional DynaCT
rotational angiographic reconstruction and 3‑dimensional printed model. JACC Cardiovasc. Interv. 7, e151–e152 (2014) with permission from Elsevier
Giannopoulos, A. A. et al. (2016) Applications of 3D printing in cardiovascular diseases
Nat. Rev. Cardiol. doi: /nrcardio