拯救生命的3 d打印技术的应用,now, no longer surprising. In fact, 3D printing patient-specific models is now becoming regular practice for surgical preparation. Now, however, a team of Michigan doctors has used the technology to help diagnose a medical concernbeforethe patient was even born.
Reported in儿科，密歇根州的医生在怀孕的30周中注意到了一名22岁妇女的胎儿的面孔。通过传统的MRI扫描，该团队无法确定群众的确切性质。担心肿块会在出生时阻止婴儿的气道，医生依靠3D打印来进一步诊断该问题，如果可能需要在分娩时准备插管。
Using a specialized MRI, they were then able to translate the scan data into a 3D printable model, with which they were able to predict that the baby had a cleft lip and palate deformity that would not cause any airway blockage. The authors, Dr. Kyle K. VanKoevering, et al., write in the study, titled “Antenatal Three-Dimensional Printing of Aberrant Facial Anatomy”,“这些发现证实没有指出出口程序。根据3D打印模型的结果，决定进行预定的剖宫产。新生儿在没有并发症的情况下成功交付，并且能够自发呼吸而无需干预。”
结果，婴儿出生时没有任何问题。随后只有一天的时间里，婴儿被从医院出院，并计划在路上修复唇裂，然后在九个月至一年内修复裂口的口感。作者庆祝使用3D打印模型进行产前准备，甚至解释了最先进的MRI的限制。“医学中3D印刷的最新进展取决于改进传统成像方式（例如MRI）的方法。传统上，在一系列2D平面图像中可视化了诸如计算机断层扫描和MRI之类的横截面成像工具。”写密歇根团队。“但是，要使临床医生可视化3D解剖关系，他们必须在心理上重建2D平面图像中的3D图像。对于我们的临床医生团队，2D图像不足以使团队完全理解解剖结构，并且无法描绘出气道阻塞是否存在。但是，提供了3D模型。”
他们继续，指出该模型还如何从可视化中删除了不需要的原始数据，“Although 3D printing does not provide new data, it filters and processes the raw data matrix from the MRI in a way that enables improved visualization and clinical decision-making for the clinician. Additionally, the hands-on experience provided by the 3D printed model allowed the team to plan potential interventions (ie, intubation with a specific laryngoscope) in a fashion that would not have been possible with purely digital models. This experience allowed the team to proceed without a planned EXIT procedure having more confidence in the anatomy and potential interventions necessary.”
Just as 3D printed pre-surgical models are becoming increasingly used in the medical field, it’s possible that, with the Michigan team providing a first, that they’ll even be used for patients in the womb, removing both medical complexities and parental anxieties from the delivery of new born lives.
