NEW ORLEANS, LA USA (UroToday.com) - Given the significance of training tools for physician education, the authors created three-dimensionally printed physical kidney models of renal malignancies. These models may aid trainees as well as patients by serving as a visual tool as well as for surgical simulation prior to a patient operation. Previous studies have demonstrated the use of three-dimensional printing technologies for developing anatomically correct models to be used as an education tool for training and skills acquisition.
The authors constructed high-fidelity physical 3D models of renal units with enhancing renal lesions using various 3D-printing techniques. Although each 3D-printing technique differed, all techniques used a similar process where successful layers of a material are cured, one atop another, until a final model was created.
The first technique used was colorjet printing. This process uses a core layer of plaster like powder to form a rigid, opaque model. The second technique used stereolithograph. This technique uses a liquid polymer that is cured by a UV laser to create a semi-translucent, rigid model. The last two techniques involved multijet printing. In this process various photopolymers are jetted through a print head in small droplets. This technique was also used to create a mold that could be used to make a kidney model using agarose gel.
The authors conclude that “pre-operative physical 3-D models using readily available printing techniques can be constructed and may potentially influence both the patients’ and trainees’ understanding of renal malignancies.” Further studies must be done to validate these models as a training tool and to determine whether they may improve patient outcomes.
Presented by Jonathan Silberstein at the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting - May 15 - 19, 2015 - New Orleans, LA USA
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA USA
Reported by Renai Yoon (University of California-Irvine), medical writer for UroToday.com