Gómez-Ciriza, GorkaGómez-Cía, TomásRivas-González, José AntonioVelasco Forte, Mari NievesValverde, Israel2022-08-162022-08-162021-06-04Gómez-Ciriza G, Gómez-Cía T, Rivas-González JA, Velasco Forte MN, Valverde I. Affordable Three-Dimensional Printed Heart Models. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2021 Jun 4;8:642011http://hdl.handle.net/10668/3906This is a 7-years single institution study on low-cost cardiac three-dimensional (3D) printing based on the use of free open-source programs and affordable printers and materials. The process of 3D printing is based on several steps (image acquisition, segmentation, mesh optimization, slicing, and three-dimensional printing). The necessary technology and the processes to set up an affordable three-dimensional printing laboratory are hereby described in detail. Their impact on surgical and interventional planning, medical training, communication with patients and relatives, patients' perception on care, and new cardiac device development was analyzed. A total of 138 low-cost heart models were designed and printed from 2013 to 2020. All of them were from different congenital heart disease patients. The average time for segmentation and design of the hearts was 136 min; the average time for printing and cleaning the models was 13.5 h. The average production cost of the models was €85.7 per model. This is the most extensive series of 3D printed cardiac models published to date. In this study, the possibility of manufacturing three-dimensional printed heart models in a low-cost facility fulfilling the highest requirements from a technical and clinical point of view is demonstrated.enAtribución 4.0 InternacionalAtribución 4.0 InternacionalAtribución 4.0 InternacionalAtribución 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Affordable 3d printingSurgical planningInterventional planningHeart modelsMedical educationImpresión tridimensionalProcedimientos quirúrgicos vascularesPlanificación hospitalariaCorazónModelos cardiovascularesEducación médicaMedical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Animals::Chordata::Vertebrates::Mammals::Primates::Haplorhini::Catarrhini::Hominidae::HumansMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Surgical Procedures, Operative::Assisted Circulation::Heart-Assist DevicesMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Equipment and Supplies::Surgical Equipment::Surgical MeshMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Diagnosis::Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures::Diagnostic Imaging::Imaging, Three-DimensionalMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Cardiovascular Diseases::Heart Diseases::Heart Defects, CongenitalMedical Subject Headings::Information Science::Information Science::CommunicationMedical Subject Headings::Psychiatry and Psychology::Psychological Phenomena and Processes::Mental Processes::PerceptionMedical Subject Headings::Technology and Food and Beverages::Technology, Industry, and Agriculture::Technology::Educational Technology::Audiovisual Aids::Models, Structural::Models, Anatomicresearch article34150862open access10.3389/fcvm.2021.6420112297-055XPMC8211988