Heart to 3D Printed Heart

Congenital Heart Defects (CHD) are the most common birth defect and many require surgical intervention.  Now, thanks to an innovative use of 3D printing, a two week old child with a severe CHD has a chance at life.  The baby was born with holes in his/her heart and had malformed chamber.  Doctors input MRI data to a 3D computer to create a model of the child’s heart.  In this way, the surgeon could study the model in detail without stopping the patient’s heart to explore any defects thoroughly.  Cardiac surgeons could then fix the complex defects in one procedure.

(3D printed heart model of two-week old infant. Image Credit: Matthew’s Hearts of Hope)

The infant had successful surgery at Morgan Stanley’s Children Hospital.

More about the surgery at IFLS and the Connecticut Post.

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