Surgeons can then use the plastic replica to see, measure – and hold - the organ in all its detail, and tailor the surgery before they operate. This is particularly useful for operating on small children, whose organs are very small.
Two-year old Mina was one of the first patients in the UK to
benefit from this new technique. From birth, her heart was so deformed
by a large hole between the two chambers, it was thought it could not be
repaired. However using an exact replica of the heart printed off in
plastic, doctors treating her at Evelina London Children’s Hospital were
able to see the exact size and position of the hole in the wall between
two of her heart chambers, and to design a patch for it.
The technique was pioneered at King’s College London by Dr Gerald Greil, Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist at Evelina Hospital who specialises in creating high resolution 3D images of the heart using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In Mina's case, Greil and colleagues within the Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at King’s used computer software to stitch together more than 120 images of the heart, creating a 3D image that could be viewed on a scan from any angle. Turning this image into a replica was the next step.
Professor Reza Razavi, Head of Division of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering at King’s College London said: 'We have been using 3D models for research and teaching for a while but using it clinically is a first for us.'