Trainee surgeons get to the 3D-printed heart of the matter

Richard Arm, an MSc Smart Design postgraduate researcher at Nottingham Trent University’s School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, has undertaken the study with the support of the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Royal Centre for Defence Medicine and the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.

“Cardiothoracic surgery is one of the main life-saving treatments taught at medical schools around the world,” says Richard, a composite materials specialist who also lectures across eight different courses at the university’s School of Art & Design. “But its teaching often relies on basic plastic models, which doesn’t necessarily provide a realistic learning experience.

“This study shows how it’s possible to replicate the human heart, inside and out, and make it so realistic that it could literally be ‘operated’ on by trainee surgeons. Students would be able to make incisions to experience how it would feel and see what the inside of the heart looks like. An operation could be simulated and students would be able to practise until they reached a satisfactory standard, improving the quality of medical care in the future.”

Using 3D-printing techniques, the prosthetic hearts feature lifelike internal detail and have the varying tactile qualities of real human hearts. Using silicone gels, the different areas of hardness of the human heart - such as around the heart’s arteries and valves - is achieved by using specific blends of these 3D-printing materials.

The study also includes an exploration of how CT and MRI scan data could be used in the future to help 3D-print exact replicas of individual hearts. It also looks at the potential for artificial blood being pumped into the prosthesis to enhance the realism of a mock operation.

Professor Michael Vloeberghs, professor of paediatric neurosurgery and honorary consultant paediatric neurosurgeon at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, says the research has the potential to help improve the way trainee surgeons develop their understanding of critical operations like heart surgery. "This could be a real benefit to the way in which we educate students, by providing them with more realistic experiences before they go into live theatre,” he adds.

Project supervisor Professor Philip Breedon, a professor in smart technologies at Nottingham Trent University's School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, believes Richard Arm has identified what appears to be a niche in the market. "His prostheses offer a strong degree of realism and we’re keen to support him in taking this forward.”