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

Abstract

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. Appropriate reusable design, realistic mechanical properties with various material types, and 3D printers (fused deposition modeling (FDM) and PolyJet printers) were used to represent the realistic anatomical structures. As a result, the phantom printed by PolyJet reflected closer mechanical properties than those of the FDM phantom. Accuracies (mean difference ± 95 confidence interval) of phantoms by FDM and PolyJet were 0.53 ± 0.46 and 0.98 ± 0.55 mm, respectively. Phantoms were used by surgeons for VATS training, which is considered more reflective of the clinical situation than the conventional simulation phantom. In conclusion, the patient-specific, realistic, and reusable VATS phantom provides a better understanding the complex anatomical structure of a patient and could be used as an educational phantom for esophageal structure replacement in VATS.

How to Validate in silico Deployment of Coronary Stents: Strategies and Limitations in the Choice of Comparator

“…Moreover, material stiffness should be in the in vivo range for coronary arteries. In the frame of the InSilc project, the authors had access to the PolyJet technology, which is reported as one of the standards in the literature of 3D-printing of anatomical phantoms because of its high resolution ( 12 ). This would allow mimicking the dimensions, shape, and all morphological aspects (e.g., stenoses) affecting the outcome of the deployment in terms of lumen gain and malappositions.…”

Evolution of Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography Imaging in Thoracic Surgery

“…For example, Chen et al made 3D–printed models for surgical planning in the first case of a right-to-left inverted living-donor lobar lung transplantation, followed by multiple successful cases [ 53 ]. The development of a patient-specific, realistic, and reusable VATS simulator using 3D printing technology was also reported for a pediatric patient with an esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula [ 54 ]. A similar technique is the use of 3D stereoscopic vision using 3D polarized glasses or head-mounted displays.…”

A High-Fidelity Artificial Urological System for the Quantitative Assessment of Endoscopic Skills

“…AI-Jabir et al presented an Advanced Scope Trainer (AST, Mediskills Limited, Northampton, UK), which allows the training of both basic and advanced procedures [18]. However, there still remain challenges in developing a realistic artificial organ phantom system with detailed anatomy, providing realistic imaging results as well as enabling quantitative feedback on the surgical performance to the trainees [19,20].…”