Development of a Survey Tool: Understanding the Patient Experience With Personalized 3D Models in Surgical Patient Education

Abstract

Background: Three-dimensional (3D) printing has been increasingly utilized in the healthcare sector for many applications including guiding surgical procedures, creating medical devices, and producing custom prosthetics. As personalized medicine becomes more accessible and desired, 3D printed models emerge as a potential tool in providing patient-specific education. These personalized 3D models are at the intersection of technological innovation and medical education. Our study group utilized a modified Delphi process to create a comprehensive survey tool assessing patient experience with personalized 3D models in preoperative education.

Methods: A rigorous literature review was conducted of prior patient education survey tools in surgical cases across specialties involving personalized 3D printed models. Through categorization and mapping, a core study team reviewed individual questions, removed duplicates, and edited them into generalizable form. A modified Delphi process was then used to solicit feedback on question clarity and relevance from both 3D printing healthcare experts and patients to create a final survey. Results: 173 survey questions from the literature were evaluated by the core study team, yielding 31 unique questions for further review. After multiple rounds of feedback, a final survey containing 18 questions was developed. Conclusion: 3D printed models have the potential to be helpful tools in surgical patient education, and there exists a need to standardize the assessment of patient experience with these models. This survey provides a standardized, generalizable way to investigate the patient experience with personalized 3D-printed models.

Keywords: 3d printed models; 3d printing; informed consent; patient education; personalized medicine; survey development.

Figure 1. Diagram of Mapping Process

Figure 2. Flow Diagram of Modified Delphi Process