3D Printed Model used towards kidney operation
3D printing technology is becoming more common in the medical industry, whereby scans (such as MRI and CT) can be converted into physical models for use as a research aid.
Entrepreneur John Cousins (Managing Director of @isodo3d ) recently took advantage of an opportunity to demonstrate the potential of these models for a kidney stone removal operation, with Simpleware software playing an important role in the process.
Cousins collapsed and was taken to hospital last year with acute pain, which resulted in his appendix being removed. However, a CT scan also revealed a ‘stag-head’ kidney stone that needed to be operated on. This gave Cousins the idea to use the scan to create a 3D printed model of his own kidney from the 2D image slices, which could assist in the planning of the operation to remove the stone.
More: http://simpleware.com/news-and-events/kidney.html#.VLj4bEesXNs