Researchers 3D print hearts to improve LAA operations

Researchers in Australia are creating 3D replicas of patient’s hearts to plan out left atrial appendage closures using Boston Scientific‘s (NYSE:BSX) Watchman device, according to a new report from heartwire.

Creating the 3D replica is useful in patients with complicated cardiovascular anatomy, where even advanced imaging methods can make it difficult to quantify the area of the appendage, researchers told heartwire.

“The issue is that the structure of the left atrial appendage is very complex, and even if you have a great-quality data set, it’s very difficult to know where the device will fit within the left atrial appendage. The sizing is not straightforward. Within the orifice of the left atrial appendage, it can be hard to decide exactly where the device should go,” lead investigator Dr James Otton told heartwire.

The researchers published data on their 3D printing experience in a letter to the editor in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions. In the article, they used data from a CT scan of a 74-year old man to print a 3D heart model before an LAA procedure, according to heartwire.

Having a 3D model allowed the physicians to analyze anatomic deformation with the different sizes of the Watchman device. Because they had a physical model, the doctors were able to identify the correct size, stating that if they had functioned off imaging alone, they would have chosen a size that may have been too small.

Otton told heartwire that using imaging techniques can be time-consuming and complicated, but having a physical model allowed the physicians to “just stick the device in and you know exactly how it’s going to fit.”

The cost, in time and dollars, were both low, researchers said. Printing takes around 30 minutes, after the CT mapping scan, and material costs are in the $100-$200 range, though other ancillary costs exist. The procedure may not be necessary for patients with straightforward anatomy and easy to calculate measurements, the researchers added.

“I don’t want to overstate the utility of [3D printing], because this is really just proof of concept, showing that it can be done. I think 3D printing will be used more—even in our own work it’s been used in other procedures—and I think it will be useful in a subset of complex procedures. And it’ll definitely be useful in education and planning, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’ll be routinely done. I think we’ll have to wait a year or two to see how it goes,” Otton told heartwire.

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