[{"innerBlocks":[],"name":"core\/freeform","postId":2336,"blockType":{"name":"core\/freeform","keywords":[],"attributes":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"providesContext":[],"usesContext":[],"selectors":[],"supports":{"className":false,"customClassName":false,"reusable":false},"styles":[],"variations":[],"apiVersion":3,"title":"Classic","description":"Use the classic WordPress editor.","category":"text"},"originalContent":"The Mayo Clinic is using radiological imaging on a regular basis, creating point-of-care 3D anatomical models to aid physicians so frequently that 3D printing has become a regular component of patient treatment.

Point-of-care manufacturing is a technology that enables the process to be performed on site where it\u2019s needed. One of the fastest growing areas of the evolving 3D printing industry is in point-of-care biomedical\/medical applications. Using medical imaging data, a hospital\u2019s radiology department manufactures life-size tangible anatomical models that are used for surgical planning and guidance, simulations, diagnoses and patient education.

The Mayo Clinic has taken its use further, using it regularly and creating a state-of -the-art infrastructure to support it. 3D printing is part of the organization\u2019s standard of care, IT operations, sterilization procedures and quality control process, says Jonathan Morris, MD, co-director of the Mayo Clinic radiology department\u2019s 3D anatomic modeling lab in Rochester, Minn.

The Clinic also had to address additional issues, such as how to incorporate the models into the electronic health record, determining when the use of 3D printing is clinically appropriate, even how to label the models so that they are HIPAA-compliant.

\u201cWe\u2019re the leader (in this discipline). We\u2019re manufacturers, not tinkerers. You can\u2019t just purchase a 3D printer and software package,\u201d says Morris.

Amy Alexander, the lab\u2019s biomedical engineer, agrees. \u201cJust because you can do something once does not mean it\u2019s done on a regular basis as part of regular patient care. It\u2019s not a laser jet printer. You don\u2019t just push a button,\u201d she explains.

The lab has grown exponentially, from 10 to 20 3D models a year when it first opened in 2006 to more than 1,000 annually. The lab handled 700 patient cases last year, using imaging scans to print several models for each case, according to Alexander. Many of the models need to be created on short notice. \u201cWe have deliverables and have to design something rapidly,\u201d says Morris.

The team has helped other hospitals establish their own 3D printing labs. \u201cOur goal is to advance the specialty and get it to as many people as we can so the specialty itself can grow. Not everyone can get to the Mayo Clinic,\u201d says Morris. Morris and Alexander will be discussing their program at SME\u2019s 3D printing RAPID + TCT meeting in April. <\/a>

The point of care manufacturing does require teamwork.

\u201cWe\u2019ve had to marry different kinds of surgeons with unique needs with our expertise in radiology and the engineers who create the physical design,\u201d says Alexander.

\u201cWe\u2019ve developed our own 3D printing clinical culture to collaborate. It\u2019s not often you find that. It\u2019s unique,\u201d says Alexander.

The specialty is not without its challenges. For example, a vascular surgeon specializing in stenting aortic aneurysms needed a stent for a complex aneurysm. However, such a stent did not exist. He asked the lab to create a model of the patient\u2019s aorta so he could use it to create the kind of stent he needed for surgery the next week. He had a working prototype in four days. \u201cThat can\u2019t happen without collaboration and multidisciplinary integration,\u201d says Morris.

The biggest obstacle? Figuring out how to communicate. \u201cWe all come from different disciplines and different lexicons,\u201d says Morris.

\u201cEveryone comes together because it\u2019s not about us. It\u2019s how to help the patient,\u201d says Morris.","saveContent":"The Mayo Clinic is using radiological imaging on a regular basis, creating point-of-care 3D anatomical models to aid physicians so frequently that 3D printing has become a regular component of patient treatment.

Point-of-care manufacturing is a technology that enables the process to be performed on site where it\u2019s needed. One of the fastest growing areas of the evolving 3D printing industry is in point-of-care biomedical\/medical applications. Using medical imaging data, a hospital\u2019s radiology department manufactures life-size tangible anatomical models that are used for surgical planning and guidance, simulations, diagnoses and patient education.

The Mayo Clinic has taken its use further, using it regularly and creating a state-of -the-art infrastructure to support it. 3D printing is part of the organization\u2019s standard of care, IT operations, sterilization procedures and quality control process, says Jonathan Morris, MD, co-director of the Mayo Clinic radiology department\u2019s 3D anatomic modeling lab in Rochester, Minn.

The Clinic also had to address additional issues, such as how to incorporate the models into the electronic health record, determining when the use of 3D printing is clinically appropriate, even how to label the models so that they are HIPAA-compliant.

\u201cWe\u2019re the leader (in this discipline). We\u2019re manufacturers, not tinkerers. You can\u2019t just purchase a 3D printer and software package,\u201d says Morris.

Amy Alexander, the lab\u2019s biomedical engineer, agrees. \u201cJust because you can do something once does not mean it\u2019s done on a regular basis as part of regular patient care. It\u2019s not a laser jet printer. You don\u2019t just push a button,\u201d she explains.

The lab has grown exponentially, from 10 to 20 3D models a year when it first opened in 2006 to more than 1,000 annually. The lab handled 700 patient cases last year, using imaging scans to print several models for each case, according to Alexander. Many of the models need to be created on short notice. \u201cWe have deliverables and have to design something rapidly,\u201d says Morris.

The team has helped other hospitals establish their own 3D printing labs. \u201cOur goal is to advance the specialty and get it to as many people as we can so the specialty itself can grow. Not everyone can get to the Mayo Clinic,\u201d says Morris. Morris and Alexander will be discussing their program at SME\u2019s 3D printing RAPID + TCT meeting in April. <\/a>

The point of care manufacturing does require teamwork.

\u201cWe\u2019ve had to marry different kinds of surgeons with unique needs with our expertise in radiology and the engineers who create the physical design,\u201d says Alexander.

\u201cWe\u2019ve developed our own 3D printing clinical culture to collaborate. It\u2019s not often you find that. It\u2019s unique,\u201d says Alexander.

The specialty is not without its challenges. For example, a vascular surgeon specializing in stenting aortic aneurysms needed a stent for a complex aneurysm. However, such a stent did not exist. He asked the lab to create a model of the patient\u2019s aorta so he could use it to create the kind of stent he needed for surgery the next week. He had a working prototype in four days. \u201cThat can\u2019t happen without collaboration and multidisciplinary integration,\u201d says Morris.

The biggest obstacle? Figuring out how to communicate. \u201cWe all come from different disciplines and different lexicons,\u201d says Morris.

\u201cEveryone comes together because it\u2019s not about us. It\u2019s how to help the patient,\u201d says Morris.","order":0,"get_parent":{},"attributes":[],"attributesType":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"dynamicContent":""}]

Mayo Clinic uses imaging to expand point-of-care 3D printing

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