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Should I Use 3D Printing For My Anatomy Demonstration and Training Models?

Although 3D printing originated in 1984, the technology has caught fire in the past 15 years or so. It’s become a buzzword in many industries involved in engineering and design (and, more recently, medicine). With all of the publicity surrounding it, it’s reasonable to wonder, “is 3D printing the best option for my anatomy models?” For that answer, let’s dive a little deeper.

3D Printing: How It’s Used

3D printing is used for anatomy models! For hard structures, such as bone models, 3D printing may be the sole process used to create the finished product. For tissues of the body, however, there are varying levels of elasticity and softness. After all, most structures of the human body are comprised of soft tissue, not rigid like bone. This is where things get a little more interesting.

To create 3D-printed anatomy models, there has to be an “outline” to define the shape and size. For this, 3D CAD (computer-aided design) data is created of the anatomical structures. This CAD data can be created by using patient data as a starting point or a combination of digital sculpting and engineering software.

After the CAD outline is finalized and accurate to replicate the anatomical shapes and required pathologies, the power of 3D printing is utilized. A prototype (known as a “master”) is 3D printed using the CAD data to allow for a physical product to be visualized for the size and dimensions of a model for client review and approval.

If everything looks good, this master is used as a master pattern for a soft mold to be created around it. This mold brings us to where the magic really happens.

3D Printing: How It’s NOT Used

As beautiful as the 3D printed master is, it’s rigid and therefore not representative of soft tissue. In order to produce a clinically relevant, reusable, durable, and economic soft tissue model, soft materials are cast into the soft mold created from the 3D-printed master model.

This process is highly customizable because the recipe for the soft cast materials can be adjusted repeatedly using the same mold until the exact desired soft tissue feel is created. This is not unlike using the same muffin tin one day to make corn muffins, the next day chocolate cupcakes, and mini quiches the day after. The recipe is different, but the shape remains faithful to the original 3D data/master/mold shape.

When the correct mixture of soft materials is finalized to match the desired clinical scenario, you’re left with a visually beautiful and anatomically accurate model in shape and feel.

Bringing It All Together

Think about 3D printing as a tool that leads to a beautiful final product made of soft materials. The 3D-printed master allows for wonderful visualization, as well as the ability to act as the pattern for a soft mold to be created around it. However, this rigid version of the model simply won’t do as the final product if you wish to provide the most clinically relevant experience while remaining economically responsible.

Rigid 3D printed models require significant labor time for sanding, they cannot replicate the elasticity, responsiveness, and feel of human soft tissue, and they simply don’t last as long as soft cast materials before the color and material properties start to fade. There are competing technologies in 3D printing, but they do not meet the intended purposes of a quality medical demonstration model.

For instance, 3D printing with cells or gels is technically an option, but this has even more limitations than rigid models. While 3D cell printing may be advantageous for research and development purposes where a high degree of tissue property realism is key and convenience is not a requirement, it is not ideal for demo and training uses because it is costly, requires a biologist, are difficult to maintain and has a short shelf-life.

3D printing soft materials is another technology. While this option has a longer shelf-life than cell and gel printing (or cadaver parts) and eliminates the issue of only being able to print rigid structures, it significantly lacks clinical relevance because the product does not feel or behave like soft tissue. Additionally, this process leaves a 3D print texture that cannot be sanded out due to its soft nature.

For it all to come together, soft casting materials are the best combination of realism, economy, and convenience.

Soft cast models are better than 3D printed parts in the following ways:

More economical.

• The finishing work is done once for the master, so there is minimal labor to create more parts.
• You can make more models in less time.
• Cast parts are more durable and will last much longer, precluding the need to replace them.

More convenient.

• These models do not need to be kept in a very specific temperature range like 3D cell printing models and cadaver parts do, making them easier to transport and ship.

More repeatable.

• They’re created from a mold (and therefore identical), so they’re able to deliver the same experience every time.

More professional.

• These models have a clean, professional appearance to reflect well on your brand.

With all of your newfound knowledge, let’s circle back to the original question: “Should I use 3D printing for my anatomical models?”

Yes. Just not for all of it.

Nobody could have predicted how the pandemic would uproot medical device marketing and training. But there’s one prediction we can safely make today: The hoops we jumped through to keep sales reps engaged and trainers training—from their homes—did more than shift us to virtual meetings and presentations. It kicked open the door to new ideas that medical device makers can use today and after the pandemic.

But those new ideas aren’t necessarily obvious. Clients tell me they’re concerned that this new world order, where they’re limited to conferencing, animations, videos, and other forms of purely digital interaction, suffers from the loss of physicality. They’re investing more in digital but are concerned about reduced results due to the loss of physicality; hands-on, clinically relevant interactions that transfer knowledge viscerally to sales teams and clinicians.

This doesn’t have to be the case. Rather than look at medical device marketing as an either/or proposition—either clinically realistic physicality or 100% digital—we can bring these worlds together with a new hybrid approach. It’s possible to create unparalleled experiences by fusing digital with real-world custom anatomical medical models and set the stage for more effective medical device marketing and training that delivers returns long after the pandemic is over.

BEYOND SHOW AND TELL

The history of disruptive innovation has lessons for us. Look no further than telehealth, which last year erupted from a small number of early adopters to a primary healthcare delivery channel. Those indoctrinated into telehealth won’t abandon it after the pandemic, but they won’t be using it exclusively, either. A hybrid approach is emerging where telehealth consumers are blending virtual check-ins with physical visits.

How can you blend hands-on physical experiences and virtual interactions to deliver a more effective hybrid solution to your sales teams and clinicians? Think beyond show and tell. Think show, tell, and feel. Think about what you would do if you had a clinically responsive realistic physical model to incorporate into your virtual presentations. Instead of people multitasking while you’re presenting, think about your participants interacting with a hands-on model you sent them ahead of time. Imagine the model has been engineered to produce the specific “aha!” moment you need to drive adoption.

Here’s one of many examples I can share based on actual engagements I’ve had with Pulse MDM clients. Sclerotherapy is a procedure used to treat varicose and spider veins.  The doctor injects a solution (normally a salt solution) directly into the diseased vein, causing the vein to close, and forcing blood to reroute through healthier veins.

THE POWER OF TOUCH

Sounds straightforward, but there’s a problem: It takes skill to find and treat tiny varicose veins; a skill that is impossible to acquire using purely digital techniques. The solution we came up with: Adding physicality to the virtual world. We helped our client develop an operable custom model that enhances digital training and sales presentations with a truly tactile experience.

The sclerotherapy model’s vessels contain blue food coloring in the vessels. When clinicians target and inject properly, the blue liquid is chased away by clear water, making the vessel lumen under the skin invisible, giving the appearance of the vessel closing.

Now our client can provide an interactive hybrid experience that uses digital video instruction married with real-world physicality to show, tell, and feel. Clinicians can feel the experience of finely targeting small varicose veins and feel the satisfaction of doing so successfully. This provides a level of enlightenment and confidence no digital technique can match.

This is only one example of how you can create a hybrid “show, tell, and feel” experience for sales and training that delivers better results than show and tell alone. In the end, it’s the difference between giving your clinicians models you point to versus models they touch and experience. Frankly, it’s the only way to ensure you deliver that “aha!” moment in today’s marketing and training environments.

Pulse Medical Demonstration Models Offers Flexible Solutions

It’s not an either/or decision. Here at Pulse Medical Demonstration Models, we have learned it’s a “best of both worlds” decision to blend what we’ve learned about using digital tools during the pandemic with what we know about using physically engaging anatomical medical models. Those who embrace this hybrid approach to medical device marketing and training will gain a distinct competitive advantage over those who fail to evolve. Contact Pulse today to learn more!

Barbie looks good. But when it comes to training physicians with new medical devices and procedures, how the medical demonstration model feels is more important.

Those hard plastic models we’ve all seen in physicians’ offices look interesting, but you can’t do anything with them. The model pictured above was developed to train clinicians on a non-invasive fat cell freezing procedure and provide hands-on experience of working dimpled, pliable, fibrous, uneven, lax and stiff fat, among others.

We specialize in materials development to model tissue that, short of a cadaver, precisely replicates the response of a human organ to a needle, ultrasound, scalpel, staple, or a myriad of other medical procedures.

Don’t get me wrong, Barbie’s great. And when she gets through medical school, we’ll be right there to help with her training.

I invite you to review our portfolio or to contact me directly to discuss how a medical demonstration model can help you and meet the new challenges of the training environment.

Enthusiastically,
Allison Rae
267-789-6515/ Allison@PulseMDM

The Pulse MDM Medical Model Wins for Versatility!

Even Bubba Gump knows the days of a hard plastic, painted model sitting on a physician’s desk or in the waiting room are over.  Today, models can be used for advanced clinical training and sales enablement.

What makes medical demonstration models so effective is they offer a tactile experience and are designed to replicate the feel of human organs.  And because of their life-like qualities, medical demonstration models can offer the opportunity to perform procedures on them such as ablation or suturing or navigating through an obstruction that is expected and necessary for any training program.  In many cases, these models can be developed to replace the need for cadaver labs.

Bubba Gump thinks shrimp is pretty versatile, but it’s not as versatile as a Pulse MDM medical demonstration model.

I invite you to review our portfolio or to contact me directly to discuss how a medical demonstration model can help you and meet the new challenges of the training environment.

Enthusiastically,

Allison Rae

267-789-6515/ Allison@PulseMDM

Unequivocally no. 

The new marketing model is this:  Get models on-site while sales representatives demonstrate off-site. 

The item on the left, an Operable Robotic Throat Surgery Model, can be shipped with the container it came in.  Just call 1-800-GoFedEx and it will arrive the next day wherever medical professionals need to be trained.

In his seminal work Future Shock, author Alvin Toffler discoursed on the theme of high tech versus high touch.  Toffler posited that as technology-saturated our lives, we would increasingly seek opportunities for face to face, human interaction.

Don’t get me wrong. I like the back of the napkin ideas. They gave us Southwest Airlines and Seattle’s space needle.

Leadership isn’t always defined by what you do.  Sometimes it’s defined by what you don’t do.