CT-Derived 3D Printing for Coronary Artery Cannulation Simulator Design Manufacturing

Abstract

Mastering coronary angiography requires practice. Cadavers and animals do not accurately represent the human anatomical body, and practicing with actual patients has medical safety issues. Simulation offers safe and realistic conditions for cardiology intervention training. In this study, we propose a novel 3D printed simulator that contains physically realistic anatomy and has four access points. It increases safety for patients and students, and production is low-cost. We aimed to make and validate this simulator design as a prototype for coronary cannulation training. It was designed using computed tomography (CT) scan data of aorta, coronary, and heart models, and was printed by 3D printing with resin materials consisting of 75% or 85% clear resin and 25% or 15% flexible resin additive. The simulator was constructed with a camera above the simulator with a degree of LAO of 30°/0°, a display table, and an acrylic box. Twelve validators were interviewed for their expert opinions and analyzed by a qualitative method. They scored the simulator’s suitability on a four-point Likert scale questionnaire. They described the simulator as having admirable values for all aspects (85.8%), curriculum suitability (92%), educational importance (94%), accuracy (83%), efficiency (78%), safety (87.5%), endurance (81.2%), aesthetics (80.7%), storage (85.4%), and affordability (85.8%).

Keywords

• 3D printing
• coronary intervention
• education
• simulation
• simulator