Episode #100 | 3D Printing and 3D Tech in Pediatric Cardiology (Live Recording)

Imagine holding a child’s heart in your hands and seeing the exact path a surgeon must take before a single incision. That shift from uncertainty to clarity frames this conversation on how 3D printing, virtual reality, and advanced imaging are transforming pediatric cardiology. Our speakers show how AI-assisted segmentation, multimodality fusion, VR rehearsal, and rapid mixed-reality planning are reshaping preoperative strategy and improving communication with families.

Sarah Ptashnik of Materialise opens with the modeling perspective, walking through how CT, MRI, echo, and cath-lab 3DRA are turned into precise hollow heart models that guide baffles, conduits, and catheter routes. Nicholas Jacobson of Tangible Vet Tech brings the design and device lens, sharing how voxel modeling, hemocompatible printing, and cross-species research accelerate innovation for complex repairs. Dr. Ravi Ashwath of Baylor College of Medicine and Christus Children’s Hospital explains how advanced MRI, CT, and VR planning shorten procedure time and help teams anticipate complications in demanding congenital cases. Dr. Shafkat Anwar of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals expands on fusion imaging and mixed reality for high-risk interventions, while Dr. Jenny Zablah of Children’s Hospital Colorado highlights how 3D tools improve strategy for pulmonary vein stenosis and other complex anatomies.

Together, they explore real cases in which 3D models reshaped surgical plans, revealed hazards that imaging alone missed, and enabled bench-testing of devices before entering the cath lab. The discussion covers sterilizable materials, device libraries, accuracy checks, and how VR and AR support rapid decision-making when there is no time to print.

If you are building or refining a 3D program, you will find practical guidance on quality control, when to print versus stay digital, and how to scale these tools across a health system. 3D technologies are becoming the standard for safer, smarter, and more human cardiac care.

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