Principles of Virtual Surgical Planning and 3D Printing from Medical Imaging for Orthopedic and Spine Surgery

Virtual surgical planning and clinical 3D printing from medical imaging create patient-specific anatomic models and surgical guides, improving precision, shortening surgical times, reducing complications and blood loss in orthopedic, hand, and spine procedures.

• The process involves image acquisition with thin-section CT, dual-energy CT, and MRI bone imaging; image segmentation; virtual modeling; 3D printing with material selection; and quality assurance.
• Applications span arthroplasty, joint realignment, deformity correction, and tumor excision in the shoulder, hip, knee, spine, distal radius, ulna, pelvis, and pediatric bones.
• The review also addresses regulatory and reimbursement considerations for implementing these techniques in a health care facility.

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