Development of patient specific, realistic, and reusable video assisted thoracoscopic surgery simulator using 3D printing and pediatric computed tomography images.

Herein, realistic and reusable phantoms for simulation of pediatric lung video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) were proposed and evaluated. 3D-printed phantoms for VATS were designed based on chest computed tomography (CT) data of a pediatric patient with esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula. Models reflecting the patient-specific structure were fabricated based on the CT images.

Three-Dimensional Printing: Basic Principles and Applications in Medicine and Radiology.

The advent of three-dimensional printing (3DP) technology has enabled the creation of a tangible and complex 3D object that goes beyond a simple 3D-shaded visualization on a flat monitor. Since the early 2000s, 3DP machines have been used only in hard tissue applications. Recently developed multi-materials for 3DP have been used extensively for a variety of medical applications, such as personalized surgical planning and guidance, customized implants, biomedical research, and preclinical education.