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. 2021 Jun 14;11(6):884.
doi: 10.3390/biom11060884.

Clinical Value of Virtual Reality versus 3D Printing in Congenital Heart Disease

Ivan Lau  1 , Ashu Gupta  2 , Zhonghua Sun  1   3
Affiliations

Clinical Value of Virtual Reality versus 3D Printing in Congenital Heart Disease

Ivan Lau et al. Biomolecules. .

Abstract

Both three-dimensional (3D) printing and virtual reality (VR) are reported as being superior to the current visualization techniques in conveying more comprehensive visualization of congenital heart disease (CHD). However, little is known in terms of their clinical value in diagnostic assessment, medical education, and preoperative planning of CHD. This cross-sectional study aims to address these by involving 35 medical practitioners to subjectively evaluate VR visualization of four selected CHD cases in comparison with the corresponding 3D printed heart models (3DPHM). Six questionnaires were excluded due to incomplete sections, hence a total of 29 records were included for the analysis. The results showed both VR and 3D printed heart models were comparable in terms of the degree of realism. VR was perceived as more useful in medical education and preoperative planning compared to 3D printed heart models, although there was no significant difference in the ratings (p = 0.54 and 0.35, respectively). Twenty-one participants (72%) indicated both the VR and 3DPHM provided additional benefits compared to the conventional medical imaging visualizations. This study concludes the similar clinical value of both VR and 3DPHM in CHD, although further research is needed to involve more cardiac specialists for their views on the usefulness of these tools.

Keywords: 3D printing; congenital heart disease; diagnosis; virtual reality; visualization.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
One of the participants assessed the VR heart models using Oculus Quest 2 (Facebook Technologies, LLC, Irvine, California, United States). He was able to interact with the VR heart models using hand-held controllers.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A transected digital heart model demonstrating a ventricular septal defect with a virtual patch (in blue) over the defect.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Steps involved in the creation of 3DPHM and the VR project. 3D, three-dimensional; CTA, computed tomography angiography; OBJ, object files; STL, standard tessellation language.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Responses from the participants with regard to their opinion on whether VR and 3DPHM help to increase surgeons’ confidence in CHD surgeries.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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