3D printing and medical imaging

Three-dimensional (3D) printing and medical imaging have a complementary association, the benefits and application areas of which are increasingly documented and further illustrated in this journal publication. Medical imaging data can be appropriately processed (i.e. segmented) to provide the geometric information from which accurate and realistic 3D medical models can be generated. The resulting models can be printed in a range of different materials to suit their use as phantoms in medical radiation and imaging studies, for medical imaging education and training or patient communication.