University of Washington doctors are seen here doing heart surgery using catheters. These long tubes reaching into the heart allow doctors to perform non-invasive heart surgery. Doctor Mark Reisman is better at it now when he gets to practice by using an exact 3D model of this heart created by 3D printers using ultra-sound scans.

“So with this allows us to do, the 3D prints is allowing us to physically see the heart, and then to understand the nuances of the anatomy, both the anatomy itself but also how the anatomy within the heart is related to other structures.”

Dmitry Levin fits ultra-sound data into a 3D printer that creates a model accurately and quickly.

“One of the huge advantages is the turnaround time. So the time between when I get the data set and when I deliver the model could be cut down tremendously into hours instead of days.”

Quick turnaround allows Reisman to plan his surgery in ways he’s never been able to before.

“In the types of procedures that I do, I think what it does is it gives me an opportunity to rehearse the procedure beforehand which is very very powerful, because it’s supposed to mean doing these procedures and engaging the various valves for the first time when I’m doing on a patient. I could actually practice that outside of the patient.”

Recent studies show that most aortic valve surgeries are done by a catheter than more dangerous open-heart surgery.

Source: http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/201902/578590.shtml