3D printing plays an important role in industry. However, its application in the area of
healthcare is one of the crucial issues for this technology. 3D printing went far beyond less
expensive and personalized prostheses and implants. It is even used in sophisticated embryonic stem cell printouts, producing organ models for medication testing, "lab-on-a-chip" printouts for surgical procedures for infants and fetuses, inexpensive medical devices, medications (the first one approved by FDA), and models for surgeons allowing them to plan surgical procedures. Quite recently in Poland Dr. Marcin Wiechec MD, PhD and co-workers, launched the project “3D cardiac models for prenatal diagnostics”. This project is aimed at improving prenatal detection of cardiac anomalies by producing 3D printouts presenting normal fetal heart and around 40 variations of cardiac anomalies. Dr. Wiechec is an academician from Jagiellonian University in Krakow co-operating with GRID Design Studio also based in Krakow, Poland. 3D cardiac models are printed in the layered fashion, what makes them corresponding with prenatal ultrasound images and allows for better understanding of the geometry of normal and abnormal fetal hearts by physicians involved in prenatal diagnostics.
