From 3D Printing to Clinical Application: A Patient-Specific Venous Model to Assess the Endovascular Implementation...

Selective pulmonary artery perfusion with blood flow occlusion (SPAP-BFO), an experimental endovascular technique, has shown potential to enhance pulmonary drug delivery to the lung. Therefore, it becomes a potential minimally invasive technique for lung cancer and pulmonary metastases. Prior studies predominantly used animal models which do not adequately replicate human vascular anatomy, leaving the clinical feasibility of SPAP-BFO underexplored. To address this gap, we developed a patient-specific 3D model of the human venous system to evaluate the technical feasibility of SPAP-BFO.

A 1:1 scale 3D model of the human venous system was developed and printed based on CT scans of a patient. This model was connected to a perfusion system to simulate blood flow, enabling testing of the catheterization procedure under realistic clinical conditions. Two commercially available balloon catheters, Coda (Cook) and Reliant (Medtronic), were selected based on length and balloon diameter, and their feasibility of reaching and occluding the left and right pulmonary arteries were assessed.

The model effectively simulated human anatomy and blood flow, allowing for both visual and fluoroscopic assessment of the procedure. Both Coda and Reliant catheters successfully reached the target location, when introduced via the femoral vein, and occluded the left and right pulmonary arteries without physically blocking contralateral flow or extending beyond the first bifurcation.

This patient-specific 3D model provided a valuable platform to evaluate the clinical feasibility of SPAP-BFO. The Coda and Reliant balloon catheters demonstrated effective occlusion of the pulmonary arteries, supporting their potential use in SPAP-BFO procedures.