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International Journal of Bioprinting Flexible 3D printing in cardiovascular medicine

Figure 5. Splenic pseudoaneurysm with arterial hemorrhage from pancreatitis. (A) Axial projection of the preprocedural CT scan with pseudoaneurysm
of the splenic artery (white arrow head). (B) 3D-printed vascular model of the visceral arteries, including the pseudoaneurysm (black arrow head).
(C) Simulation setting of the 3D-printed model connected to a peristaltic water pump while performing microcatheter navigation in the splenic artery.
Abbreviations: Ao, aorta; Gb, gall bladder; Ki, kidney; Li, Liver; Pa, pancreas; Pc, pseudocyst; Sp, spleen; *, celiac trunk; **, superior mesenteric artery.

by highly experienced medical professionals, especially for the automatic generation of printable vascular models
when it comes to surgical planning. Therefore, one of the are needed to improve the efficiency and feasibility of this
major limitations to implementing this technology as a technology.
routine in clinical practice is the lack of time that medical
professionals have to employ this technically challenging Acknowledgments
and time-consuming process of fabricating such vascular
models. Further investigations on using artificial We would like to thank the company General Electric (GE,
intelligence to simplify and speed up segmentation and Boston, Massachusetts, United States) for the financial
post-processing are needed to improve their feasibility. support of our in-house 3D print lab.

5. Conclusion Funding
In conclusion, a workflow based on an open-source The fee for open-access publishing was paid from
software and end-user 3D printer allowed for the the General Electric (GE) Ancillary Research Grant
fabrication of transparent vascular models with flexible (AR2021.275/G-6270) which aims to support patient-
biological tissue mimicking characteristics. Such specific 3D printing and simulation training in
vascular models can be used for case-based endovascular interventional radiology.
procedure simulations and pre-procedural planning in
both, cardiovascular surgery and interventional radiology. Conflict of interest
Further investigations on artificial intelligence algorithms The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Volume 9 Issue 2 (2023) 313 https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.v9i2.669