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3D Printing Model of a Patient's Specific Lumbar Vertebra
Published on: April 14, 2023
Use of 3-Dimensional Printing to Create Patient-Specific Thoracic Spine Models as Task Trainers
Jelliffe Jeganathan1, Yanick Baribeau, Jeffrey Bortman
1From the *Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; †Department of Radiology, Division of Vascular & Interventional Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; and ‡Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Background And Objectives:
Thoracic epidural anesthesia is a technically challenging procedure with a high failure rate of 24% to 32% nationwide. Residents in anesthesiology have limited opportunities to practice this technique adequately, and there are no training tools available for this purpose. Our objective was to build a low-cost patient-specific thoracic epidural training model.
Methods:
We obtained thoracic computed tomography scan data from patients with normal and kyphotic spine. The thoracic spine was segmented from the scan, and a 3-dimensional model of the spine was generated and printed. It was then placed in a customized wooden box and filled with different types of silicone to mimic human tissues. Attending physicians in our institution then tested the final model. They were asked to fill out a brief questionnaire after the identification of the landmarks and epidural space using ultrasound and real-time performance for a thoracic epidural on the model (Supplemental Digital Content 1, http://links.lww.com/AAP/A197). Likert scoring system was used for scoring.
Results:
The time to develop this simulator model took less than 4 days, and the materials cost approximately $400. Fourteen physicians tested the model for determining the realistic sensation while palpating the spinous process, needle entry through the silicone, the "pop" sensation and ultrasound fidelity of the model. Whereas the tactile fidelity scores were "neutral" (3.08, 3.06, and 3.0, respectively), the ultrasound guidance and overall suitability for residents were highly rated as being the most realistic (4.85 and 4.0, respectively).
Conclusions:
It is possible to develop homemade, low-cost, patient-specific, and high-fidelity ultrasound guidance simulators for resident training in thoracic epidurals using 3-dimensional printing technology.
