CARDIOLOGY
A Model Lab continued
“ A lot of studies point to the effect true 3D has on the brain . Holding a 3D model activates a portion of the visual processing center of the brain , responsible for problem solving , that doesn ’ t get activated any other way .”
NICK JACOBSON , INWORKS
“ It turned out not to be as difficult as I thought ,” she says .
But she did recruit some help . She started by connecting with a computer engineer from the system ’ s manufacturer , who helped her write the software and override the codes necessary to make it work . She and Dr . Morgan validated the images against CT scans until they were sure their accuracy was just as good .
Then she went looking for a 3D printer .
BUILDING 3D IN 3D
Back when Nick Jacobson was an architecture student , he gave a talk on some research he was doing in structural analysis . A surgeon happened to be in the audience . Afterward , the surgeon took Jacobson aside . If they fed CT data into the models they were using , the surgeon said , they might be able to do some fascinating things with it .
“ So we gave it a try ,” says Jacobson .
As it turned out , the architectural and engineering tools Jacobson was using had never been applied to medicine . They showed a lot of promise .
Today , funded by Anschutz Medical Campus innovation initiatives , his lab , Inworks , offers engineering and design support for clinicianresearchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and at Children ’ s Colorado .
“ We got a printer and they sent someone out to give me a one-hour tutorial ,” says Dr . Zablah . “ And then I started printing .”
It worked great . The models she produced were accurate and trueto-size , great for visualizing patient-specific physiology . Surgeons loved them .
She wondered if they could print models from more pliable material her own team could use to practice placing stents . For that they used what Jacobson calls the “ robust , room size printers ” at Inworks . Those also came in handy when Dr . Zablah figured out how to segment not only the vessels , but the airways .
“ In these babies with abnormal heart physiology , a stent can make the vessel too big and crush the airway , and then you ’ re in big trouble ,” says Dr . Morgan . “ We used to use bronchoscopes or inject contrast down the airway to figure out that anatomy . Jenny worked out a way just to pick the airway out of these pictures basically by segmenting where there ’ s no contrast .
“ She ’ s the first person to work that out ,” he adds .
Aside from the time and risk it eliminates , the ability to model vessels and airways simultaneously improves accuracy , since both
10 | CHILDREN ’ S HOSPITAL COLORADO