New 3-D printed skulls prepare doctors more efficiently for complex procedures

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Patients who walk into Dr. Jose Gurrola’s otolaryngology clinic at the University of Virginia Health System are seeking relief from a wide range of nasal issues, from nosebleeds and chronic sinusitis to brain fluid leaks.

To assess the patients and determine the best course of action, Gurrola or a member of his team may perform an endoscopy – a procedure that involves taking a camera with a long scope on the end and inserting it into a patient’s nasal cavity.

It’s seldom a welcomed prospect, Gurrola acknowledged. “Most patients are not used to having something in their nose, so they may be very nervous,” he said.

Similarly, newly minted residents may have some uneasiness before performing the procedure on a patient for the first time.

“It can be completely unnerving for the patient and the resident,” Gurrola said.

But a recent development at UVA is creating new opportunities that bolster the confidence of both patients and residents in the otolaryngology department.

Gurrola, a nose specialist, along with Dr. Robert Reed, an otolaryngology resident, and Dwight Dart, a design lab engineer at the UVA School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Rapid Prototyping 3-D Printing Lab, have created 3-D-printed skulls to use as models for rhinological surgical simulation using a combination of software and hardware.

To create the models, a patient’s CT or MRI scans are converted to 3-D printable files, which are then printed on a 3-D printer.

“The models allow students, residents and doctors to see, feel and understand dimensions of real human geometry,” Dart said.

According to Gurrola, the benefits of the 3-D models are plentiful; they are relatively cheap to produce, reusable and readily accessible to trainees.

[Source: Medicine Virginia YouTube link]