Modern tools in congenital heart disease imaging and procedure planning: a European survey

Abstract

Aims Congenital heart diseases (CHDs) often show a complex 3D anatomy that must be well understood to assess the pathophysiological consequences and to guide therapy. Three-dimensional imaging technologies have the potential to enhance the physician's comprehension of such spatially complex anatomies. Unfortunately, due to the new introduction in clinical practice, there is no evidence on the current applications. We conducted a survey to examine how 3D technologies are currently used among CHD European centres. Methods Data were collected using an online self-administered survey via SurveyMonkey. The questionnaire was sent via e-mail and the responses were collected between January and June 2022. Results Ninety-eight centres correctly completed the survey. Of these, 22 regularly perform 3D rotational angiography, 43 have the availability to print in-silico models, and 22 have the possibility to visualize holographic imaging/virtual reality. The costs were mostly covered by the hospital or the department of financial resources. Conclusion From our survey, it emerges that these technologies are quite spread across Europe, despite not being part of a routine practice. In addition, there are still not enough data supporting the improvement of clinical management for CHD patients. For this reason, further studies are needed to develop clinical recommendations for the use of 3D imaging technologies in medical practice.

Cardiac Healthcare Digital Twins Supported by Artificial Intelligence-Based Algorithms and Extended Reality—A Systematic Review

“…All these types of XR-based technologies can be very helpful in the field of cardiology [34][35][36] (also see Table 1). Marvin et al [37] have shown that this approach is quite popular in European cardiology, although it has not led to routine practice. For example, VMersive (VR-Learning, Poland) is an automated tool dedicated to the reconstruction of CT and MRI image scenes.…”

“…A further important area of XR-based technology consists of the education (broadly understood) of both future medical staff and patients [69][70][71], as in the case of teaching heart anatomy [37]. For example, VR-based simulators provide an effective tool for determining the heart's mechanical and electrical activities [72].…”