TOMSK, Jul 7 – RIA Tomsk. Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) are looking for a way to 3D-print heart models from rubber, on
which surgeons of Tomsk Cardiology Research Institute could rehearse complex
operations, the press service of the university said on Friday.
It is explained that now the Modern Production Technologies Research Center TPU
prints plastic models of specific hearts for cardiac surgeons on the basis of
tomograms. Thanks to volumetric accurate models, on which the features of
specific heart become more clearly visible, physicians can clarify the
diagnosis and plan operations.
"In the nearest future, polytechnics are planning to print 3D-hearts not
only from plastic, but also from rubber. It will allow doctors not only to
examine the structure of the heart, but also to conduct a trial operation on
the model", – is said in the report.
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It is noted that already now, when printing plastic models, polytechnics can
receive a different degree of detailing of the heart: if the operation is
planned on a particular site, it can be printed in more details, and the rest
of the organ – less accurately. But if the technology of printing plastic
prototypes has already been worked out, then to create rubber models it is necessary
to solve a number of issues.
"To print quality hearts from rubber, it's necessary to complicate the
equipment itself, as well as the software, to select the appropriate modes, so
that the rubber does not cake, and the layers are densely "glued" to
each other. Now we are working on this", – the director of the center
Vasily Fedorov is quoted in the message.
According to the press service, scientists plan to create their own specialized
printer in the future, designed to print models of internal organs. As a basis
standard equipment will be used, but its technical and software parts will be
improved by polytechnicians.