3D printing from cardiovascular CT: a practical guide and review

With the increasing capacity and sophistication of cardiovascular imaging techniques, so too have the demands and needs of clinicians expanded. Echocardiography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and even nuclear medicine images may be presented as three-dimensional (3D) images which demonstrate the spatial relationship of anatomy or pathology in an immediately interpretable fashion. A step further from the mere two-dimensional visualisation of 3D data is the creation of a replica physical 3D model from imaging data. The method to facilitate this transformation is now readily available in the form of 3D printing, sometimes called rapid prototyping. This technology has expanded rapidly over the preceding decades and is now both ubiquitous and accessible to laypeople and clinicians alike. 3D printing has been utilised in the setting of a multitude of cardiovascular diseases and pathologies in recent years and has been used to demonstrate normal cardiovascular anatomy for teaching and research purposes. Because of its volumetric, high resolution images and availability, cardiovascular CT is particularly suited to the requirements of 3D model generation. This review summarises applications, limitations and practical steps required to create a 3D printed model from cardiovascular CT