Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jan 1;111(1):1629-1635.
doi: 10.1097/JS9.0000000000002095.

Mapping the evolution of 3D printing in cardio-thoracic diseases: a global bibliometric analysis

Jie Tian  1   2 , Ying-Xian Dong  1   2 , Li Wang  2   3 , Yong-Ming Wu  1   2 , Zi-Yi Zhao  1   2 , Guo-Wei Che  1   2
Affiliations

Mapping the evolution of 3D printing in cardio-thoracic diseases: a global bibliometric analysis

Jie Tian et al. Int J Surg. .

Abstract

Background: Despite the growing research on 3D printing (3DP) in cardio-thoracic diseases, comprehensive bibliometric analyses remain scarce. This study aims to bridge this gap by identifying key research trends and hotspots within the field.

Methods: A bibliometric analysis was conducted on publications from 1991 to 2024 using data from the Web of Science Core Collection, with analysis performed using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and the R package 'bibliometrix'.

Results: The analysis included 2836 documents authored by 14 206 researchers across 85 countries. A significant rise in annual publications was observed, with the United States, China, and the United Kingdom leading in contributions. Prominent institutions, including Stanford University, were highlighted, while Scientific Reports and Biomaterials were identified as influential journals. Key research areas encompass cardiovascular, lung, and breast diseases, along with chest wall reconstructions, with emerging trends focusing on advanced materials for drug delivery and tissue engineering.

Conclusion: This comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 3DP in cardio-thoracic diseases reveals global research trends, emerging themes, and the crucial role of 3DP in advancing medical education and personalized treatment, highlighting areas for future research and development.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interest that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Annual output of research of 3DP in cardio-thoracic disease. The trend curve fitted according to the number of publications (the ‘fifth order polynomial’ model of the number of publications). (B) Visualization of countries and (C) the geographical distribution. (D) The visualization of institutions. (E) The visualization of journals.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) The visualization of co-cited journals on research of 3DP in cardio-thoracic disease. The visualization of (B) authors and (C) co-cited authors. (D) The visualization of co-cited references. (E) Top 25 references with strong citation bursts. A red bar indicates high citations in that year. (F) Keywords overlay visualization analysis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) Cluster analysis of keywords, visualized with CiteSpace. (B) Analysis of keyword evolution (timeline view).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Liu HF, He LM, Kuzmanović M, et al. . Advanced nanomaterials in medical 3D printing. Small Methods 2024;8:e2301121. - PubMed
    1. Zhang L, Wang L, Kadeer X, et al. . Accuracy of a 3-dimensionally printed navigational template for localizing small pulmonary nodules: a noninferiority randomized clinical trial. JAMA Surg 2019;154:295–303. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang ZH, Wang L, Li T, et al. . 3D bioprinting in cardiac tissue engineering. Theranostics 2021;11:7948–7969. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Van Eck NK, Waltman L. Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics 2010;84:523–538. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Synnestvedt MB, Chen CM, Holmes JH. CiteSpace II: visualization and knowledge discovery in bibliographic databases. AMIA Annu Symp Proc 2005;2005:724–728. - PMC - PubMed