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Updated: Nov 2, 2025
Development and Evaluation of 3D-Printed Cardiovascular Phantoms for Interventional Planning and Training
Published on: January 18, 2021
Feasibility and accuracy of printed models of complex cardiac defects in small infants from cardiac computed
Khaled Hadeed1, Aitor Guitarte2, Jérôme Briot2
1Pediatric and Congenital Cardiology, Children's Hospital, CHU Toulouse, 330 avenue de Grande Bretagne, TSA 70034, 31059, Toulouse Cedex 9, France. hadeed.k@chu-toulouse.fr.
Insights
Three-dimensional (3-D) printed models are feasible and accurate for complex congenital heart diseases in young children. These patient-specific models precisely replicate anatomical dimensions from cardiac CT scans.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Biomedical Engineering
- Pediatric Cardiology
Background:
- Three-dimensional (3-D) printing is increasingly utilized to visualize complex cardiac anatomy in congenital heart disease.
- Accurate anatomical models are crucial for surgical planning and patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of 3-D printed models derived from cardiac CT scans in infants and young children with complex congenital heart diseases.
- To assess the reliability of 3-D models in representing key structural dimensions.
Main Methods:
- Cardiac CT scan datasets from 14 children (under 2 years) with conotruncal heart anomalies were used to generate 3-D models.
- Four key diameters (ventricular septal defect and aortic annulus Dmin and Dmax) were measured on both CT images and 3-D printed models for comparison.
Main Results:
- 3-D models were successfully generated for all 14 pediatric patients.
- Mean measurement differences between CT images and 3-D models were minimal (0.12-0.16 mm), indicating high accuracy.
- The observed differences were not clinically significant, confirming the models' reliability.
Conclusions:
- 3-D printed models can be feasibly created from cardiac CT scans in a pediatric population with complex congenital heart disease.
- This technique provides highly accurate and reliable anatomical representations, mirroring dimensions from source CT images.
- 3-D models offer a valuable tool for understanding complex pediatric congenital heart disease anatomy.
Background:
Three-dimensional (3-D) printed models are increasingly used to enhance understanding of complex anatomy in congenital heart disease.
Objective:
To assess feasibility and accuracy of 3-D printed models obtained from cardiac CT scans in young children with complex congenital heart diseases.
Materials And Methods:
We included children with conotruncal heart anomalies who were younger than 2 years and had a cardiac CT scan in the course of their follow-up. We used cardiac CT scan datasets to generate 3-D models. To assess the models' accuracy, we compared four diameters for each child between the CT images and the printed models, including the largest diameters (Dmax) of ventricular septal defects and aortic annulus and their minimal diameters (Dmin).
Results:
We obtained images from 14 children with a mean age of 5.5 months (range 1-24 months) and a mean weight of 6.7 kg (range 3.4-14.5 kg). We generated 3-D models for all children. Mean measurement difference between CT images and 3-D models was 0.13 mm for Dmin and 0.12 mm for Dmax for ventricular septal defect diameters, and it was 0.16 mm for Dmin and -0.13 mm for Dmax for aortic annulus diameter, indicating a non-clinically significant difference.
Conclusion:
Three-dimensional printed models could be feasibly generated from cardiac CT scans in a small pediatric population with complex congenital heart diseases. This technique is highly accurate and reliably reflects the same structural dimensions when compared to CT source images.
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Definition and Purpose
An X-ray, or radiograph, is a non-invasive method that uses ionizing radiation to take images of internal structures. It is mainly used in cardiac imaging to examine the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels, aiming to identify abnormalities in the heart's size, shape, and position, such as heart failure, congenital defects, and vascular...