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Brain Surgeons Use 3D printing to Practice

Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

Mechanical thrombectomy is a hopeful new modality of interventional stroke treatment. The countless devices on the market differ with regard to where they apply force on the thrombus, taking a proximal approach such as aspiration devices or a distal approach such as basket-like devices. In 2012, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mechanical thrombectomy – using a wire to pull clots out of the brains of stroke victims. At the end of the wire a trap exists which is like a noose that that captures the clot. Considering that the mechanical thrombectomy is a very risky procedure, interventional radiologists and neurosurgeons need to train extensively before they work on a real person.

Because of the procedure is very risky, a UConn Health radiologist and medical physicist made it easier for surgeons to practice first before the actual procedure. The team made a life size model of the arteries that the wire must pass through using brain scans and a 3D printer. The life size model will allow the surgeon to be more confident when guiding the wire and will give them the basic techniques on how to move the catheter. Holding the life size model of arteries, brings home how small they are even in an adult man. According to Dr. Ketan Bulsara, this life size model will be used a training model to learn mechanical thrombectomy and being able to model the tumor in advance could personalize and advance patient care.

SOURCE

https://www.mdtmag.com/news/2017/09/uconn-healths-new-3-d-printed-model-allows-brain-surgeons-practice