Medical 3-D Printing Within a Health Care Facility.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging and 3-D Printing Technologies

Background:

• The use of medical 3-D printing in healthcare facilities (HCFs) is expanding, with increasing complexity in patient-specific anatomic models and surgical guides.
• This growth necessitates standardized best practices for safe and effective implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish consensus on best practices for medical 3-D printing within HCFs.
• To address the expanding scope and complexity of 3-D printed patient-specific anatomic models and surgical guides.

Main Methods:

• A 14-member multidisciplinary panel, nominated by 10 professional societies, was convened.
• Consensus was reached through discussions and three rounds of meetings covering general, practice, quality/safety, government relations, and economics recommendations.

Main Results:

• Unanimous or near-unanimous consensus was achieved on 25 statements and recommendations.
• Key recommendations emphasize consistent, safe, and sustainable production of 3-D printed parts derived from medical images.

Conclusions:

• The collaborative effort resulted in consensus-based best practices for medical 3-D printing.
• These recommendations provide a framework for the typical workflow and common elements in clinical 3-D printing at HCFs.