From the July 2018 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


3D models of fetuses
The use of 3D printing is fairly well established in the cardiology field, but what about obstetrics? There is a lot of interest there, but it’s not widely used yet.

“You can, on the one side, print [the model] for the patient, but also, if a case is not normal, you can use the 3D print for clinical education or to practice surgery,” said GE’s Rott.
GE’s ultrasound systems can directly process five different industry formats that 3D printing companies and 3D printers require. According to Rott, this was a major feat because those formats are very different from standard ultrasound file formats.

The company worked with a physician in Brazil who performed a few 3D printing experiments on pregnant women who are blind. The models essentially allowed them to “see” their babies.

Canon’s Aplio i800 ultrasound also has this capability. So far, the company only sees value on the consumer side.

“We are looking at clinical value and I haven’t seen any so far, but there is work being done to use [the models] to get a better understanding of anomalies, or if any procedure is being planned,” said Paulo Ucio, senior market development manager at Canon.

Bradley agreed that the entertainment and social aspect is where these 3D-printed models will take off.

“The reality is that we are driven by the consumers,” she said. “If the consumers want it and we can do it safely and provide them with medical diagnostic information as well as a beautiful picture of their baby’s face and a 3D print-out of it, why not do it safely in the hands of people who understand the equipment?”

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