New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System has developed the Medical Modeling Core, a collaboration led by the Department of Neurosurgery, where clinicians can confer and order 3D models for their cases.
The Mount Sinai Health System is comprised of seven hospital campuses and one medical school. According to a press release, virtual reality, simulation, and 3D printing services will be provided on a low-cost fee-for-service basis. The team handling 3D printing services is led by Anthony Costa, PhD, assistant professor for the department of neurosurgery and scientific director of the neurosurgery simulation core at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Dr. Costa developed segmentation tools and computer code to expedite the process of turning radiological data into models appropriate for 3D printing and modeling. Recent prints include skull-base tumors with surrounding vasculature and cranial nerves, spine modeling for the correction of severe scoliosis, and pelvic models for the planning of arthroplasty. More than half a dozen interdisciplinary collaborations have been established between the Medical Modeling Core and Mount Sinai clinical departments, including neurosurgery, orthopaedics, surgery, otolaryngology and cardiology. The Rapid Prototyping Center utilizes four 3D printers as well as a laser cutter to produce patient-specific neuroanatomy for pre-operative planning.
Joshua Bederson, M.D., professor and system chair for the department of neurosurgery at Mount Sinai Health System and clinical director of the neurosurgery simulation core, says the simulation, prototyping, and 3D printing resources and models are used in the planning stages for minimally invasive approaches and can be a trial run for surgery. Additionally, in conjunction with simulation, the models also can play an important role in the patient consultation process, he said.
According to the press release, in-house design and production of the 3D models also leads to significant cost savings for Mount Sinai physicians, as a print that would cost $500 to model at the hospital could cost ten times that through a vendor.
