[Comprehensive review of 3D printing use in medicine: Comparison with practical applications in urology]

Full-sized realistic 3D printed models of liver and tumour anatomy: a useful tool for the clinical medicine education of beginning trainees

BACKGROUND

Simulation-based medical education (SBME) and three-dimensional printed (3DP) models are increasingly used in continuing medical education and clinical training. However, our understanding of their role and value in improving trainees' understanding of the anatomical and surgical procedures associated with liver surgery remains limited. Furthermore, gender bias is also a potential factor in the evaluation of medical education. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the educational benefits trainees receive from the use of novel 3DP liver models while considering trainees' experience and gender.

METHODS

Full-sized 3DP liver models were developed and printed using transparent material based on anonymous CT scans. We used printed 3D models and conventional 2D CT scans of the liver to investigate thirty trainees with various levels of experience and different genders in the context of both small group teaching and formative assessment. We adopted a mixed methods approach involving both questionnaires and focus groups to collect the views of different trainees and monitors to assess trainees' educational benefits and perceptions after progressing through different training programs. We used Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and Likert scales to support thematic analysis of the responses to the questionnaires by trainees and monitors, respectively. Descriptive analyses were conducted using SPSS statistical software version 21.0.

RESULTS

Overall, a 3DP model of the liver is of great significance for improving trainees' understanding of surgical procedures and cooperation during operation. After viewing the personalized full-sized 3DP liver model, all trainees at the various levels exhibited significant improvements in their understanding of the key points of surgery (p < 0.05), especially regarding the planned surgical procedure and key details of the surgical procedures. More importantly, the trainees exhibited higher levels of satisfaction and self-confidence during the operation regardless of gender. However, with regard to gender, the results showed that the improvement of male trainees after training with the 3DP liver model was more significant than that of female trainees in understanding and cooperation during the surgical procedure, while no such trend was found with regard to their understanding of the base knowledge.

CONCLUSION

Trainees and monitors agreed that the use of 3DP liver models was acceptable. The improvement of the learning effect for practical skills and theoretical understanding after training with the 3DP liver models was significant. This study also indicated that training with personalized 3DP liver models can improve all trainees' presurgical understanding of liver tumours and surgery and males show more advantage in understanding and cooperation during the surgical procedure as compared to females. Full-sized realistic 3DP models of the liver are an effective auxiliary teaching tool for SBME teaching in Chinese continuing medical education.

Innovations in Kidney Stone Removal

Urolithiasis is a common clinical condition, and surgical treatment is performed with different minimally invasive procedures, such as ureteroscopy, shockwave lithotripsy and percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Although the transition from open surgery to endourological procedures to treat this condition has been a paradigm shift, ongoing technological advancements have permitted further improvement of clinical outcomes with the development of modern equipment. Such innovations in kidney stone removal are new lasers, modern ureteroscopes, development of applications and training systems utilizing three-dimensional models, artificial intelligence and virtual reality, implementation of robotic systems, sheaths connected to vacuum devices and new types of lithotripters. Innovations in kidney stone removal have led to an exciting new era of endourological options for patients and clinicians alike.

Role of three dimensional (3D) printing in endourology: An update from EAU young academic urologists (YAU) urolithiasis and endourology working group

The management of nephrolithiasis has been complemented well by modern technological advancements like virtual reality, three-dimensional (3D) printing etc. In this review, we discuss the applications of 3D printing in treating stone disease using percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) and retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS). PCNL surgeries, when preceded by a training phase using a 3D printed model, aid surgeons to choose the proper course of action, which results in better procedural outcomes. The 3D printed models have also been extensively used to train junior residents and novice surgeons to improve their proficiency in the procedure. Such novel measures include different approaches employed to 3D print a model, from 3D printing the entire pelvicalyceal system with the surrounding tissues to 3D printing simple surgical guides.