3D Printing of Heart Model as Medical Education Tools

Abstract. 3D printing is a rapidly developing technology in the medical world that has been used for pre-operative planning, prosthetic manufacturing, and training for medical education. This 3D printing is needed for medical education to make it easier for students to study anatomical structures. The advantages of 3D printing provide more detail and tactile representation of anatomical aspects of organs to address the problems of online learning and cadaveric limitations. This research aimed to develop the manufacture of 3D printed models of the human heart organ to improve understanding in learning for medical students. Making a 3D printed model of a heart organ is divisible into six parts: the aorta, right ventricle, left atrium, left ventricle, right atrium, and pulmonary artery. The 3D printing model creation procedure consisted of several steps: image acquisition, image post-processing, and 3D printing. This research used Computed Tomography Scanning (CT-Scan) images of the normal heart in Digital Imaging in Medicine (DICOM) format from Saiful Anwar Hospital, Malang. The segmentation uses the grow from seed technique with 3D Slicer software and is saved in STL format. The accuracy of the 3D printing was carried out by measuring dimensions and volume. Measurements are required to ensure the accuracy of 3D printing so that the resulting organs match the initial image data and can be used as learning media in anatomical structures by medical students.