Advantagesof 3DPrinting:

Case Study

Italy’s
3D4Med Lab
Investigates
Benefitsfor Medical
Education andPre-SurgicalPlanning

Italy’s 3D4Med Lab: Exploring the Potential of
3D Printing in the Medical Field
In 2011, 3D4Med began as a research project toexplore the potential of 3D printing in the medicalfield. In the last 10-plus years, the Italy-based,clinical 3D printing laboratory of the polyclinic San
Matteo of Pavia, a joint venture with the Universityof Pavia, has seen significant growth and successin its applications. Today, the lab is devoted tothe use of 3D printing technologies for a variety ofmedical functions, from pre-surgical planning totraining in surgical specialties.

Pediatric Surgery: 3D Printed Models for
Simulation and Surgical Planning
One of the clinicians leveraging 3D printing
technology to improve surgical planning is
Alessandro Raffaele, a pediatric surgeon at San
Matteo Hospital who is working with 3D4Med
to develop 3D printed models for simulation andsurgical planning for pediatric surgery.

Case Study

In an event series hosted and organized byStratasys and 3D4Med called “3D Printing in theClinical World,” Raffaele described the challengeof preparing for pediatric surgeries, which areperformed in smaller anatomical spaces andcavities.

“3D printed models
allow us to traintechnical skills that arevery, very hard to learn
on live patients.”
Dr. Alessandro Raffaele,

Pediatric surgeon, San Matteo Hospital3 3“We need to develop a model with small structures
and with this technology, you can reproduce
structures of the body with different materials,”Raffaele said. “3D printed models allow us to traintechnical skills that are very, very hard to learn onlive patients.”The three-event series explored how 3D printing
can become an integral part of everyday hospital
life. Experts from 3D4Med discussed multiple usesfor 3D printing, including support for planning
surgical and interventional procedures, preoperative
training and simulation, informed consent, andtraining and development of new medical devices.

Tactile 3D Printed Models: Understanding
Mechanical and Anatomical Information
Professor Andrea Pietrabissa, head of the General
Surgery II Unit and Clinical Scientific Advisor for
3D4Med also noted that tactile 3D printed models
help clinicians better understand mechanical andanatomical information.

“I think the value of 3D printing is the capability toreproduce case-specific challenges,” Pietrabissasaid. “The mechanical properties provide excellent
force feedback, which is not available with virtual
reality. In minimally invasive surgeries that entail acomplete loss of tactile feedback, surgeons must
rely on vision alone to guide their performance.
Practicing these cases with 3D printed models
gives clinicians earlier feedback and helps improveplanning.”

Case StudyDocument Title Here

Raffaele also described the learning and training
opportunities ahead of complex surgeries forspecialists.

“3D printing gives expert surgeons theopportunity to continue in their training andmaintain their skills”, Raffaele said. “One of the bigadvantages of 3D models is to improve the learning
curve. For example, since we have a low case number
per year in some malformative pathologies, with 3Dmodels, we can train and perform the same procedure
many, many times, so the learning curve improves in ashorter period of time.”

4 4Stratasys’ Technology and Partnership:
Contributing to 3D4Med’s Development
Stefania Marconi, an assistant professor in theDepartment of Civil Engineering and Architecture
at the University of Pavia and coordinator of the
3D4Med lab, noted that Stratasys’ 3D printers
for medical applications have been the lab’s firstchoice for creating accurate, patient-specificmodels for surgical planning and training.

“Our surgeons were impressed by the realism of
the anatomical models in terms of morphologicalreproduction and in terms of mechanicalproperties,” Marconi said. “The Digital Anatomy
Printer has been extremely important for thereproduction of mechanical properties of tissues,and the introduction of the GelMatrix, TissueMatrix,and BoneMatrix materials pave the way to very
realistic simulation.”

Pietrabissa also noted 3D4Med’s consistentpartnership with Stratasys and the contributions
that Stratasys technology has made to the lab’s
development.

Case StudyDocument Title Here“We have a strong collaboration built throughout
the years with this company, which is verymuch valuable for us and for our local users,”
Pietrabissa said. “The issue of training in surgery
has really evolved in the last few years, andnew methodologies are raising that range fromimmersive virtual reality environments through 3D
printing itself or cadaveric models.”

Through 3D4Med and the University ofPavia’s research and partnerships, 3D printing
technology is providing surgeons and clinicianswith more accurate, realistic 3D printed models
for pre-surgical planning, training, and devicedevelopment. The lab is continuing to explore thepotential of 3D printing to improve healthcare andpatient outcomes.

Dr. Alessandro Raffaele - pediatric surgeon

5Stratasys Headquarters

Case Study

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