3D hearts for practising surgeries: a pioneering prototype in the Hospital Virgen del Rocío
The Hospital Virgen del Rocío in Seville has developed a pioneering new application for training in heart surgery. This prototype simulator lets students practise surgery on 3D-printed hearts or biomodels, which are exact replicas of the patient's anatomy.
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In the Hemodynamics operating room of the children's hospital, we attend a cardiac catheterisation. But here everything is unusual: for a start, the specialist arrived with the patient's heart in his hand. The 3D-printed polyurethane heart is now beating inside an equally unconventional patient: a plastic torso with a pumping system.
These training simulators are proving their worth, especially in the hearts that are most difficult to operate on, such as those of children with congenital heart defects. Conventional imaging techniques, such as ultrasound and CAT scans, are used to create an exact replica in 3D.
These biomodels are already making surgery quicker, including successful operations in cases which had previously been ruled out as too complex. Low-cost training for residents is now within the reach of any public hospital. Technology at the service of our health.
