The State of Our Art: Leveraging 3D Printing to Develop Custom Pediatric Surgical Simulators

Additive manufacturing continues to revolutionize the development of custom models and tools, particularly in the niche field of medical simulation. Once a field reliant on bespoke hand-crafted special effects, where scope was hindered by time-consuming artisanal fabrication, additive manufacturing has overhauled rapid iteration, customization, and production at scale. This new era of expedient prototyping and diverse manufacturing has enabled our small workshop at Boston Children's Hospital to make significant advancements in the quality and quantity of devices we provide to our clinical collaborators. In recent years we have manufactured a wide variety of highly realistic anatomical models, both visually and haptically, ranging across dozens of surgical departments at the nation’s top pediatric hospital, where they are transforming medical education and surgical planning.

Over more than a decade of developing medical simulation models, we’ve mastered the art of leveraging the surface texture, surface chemistry, isotropism, slicing parameters, and post-processing techniques in 3D printing using FDM, SLA, SLS, and SAF. By carefully manipulating each factor, we ensure that complex medical principles are communicated with accuracy and fulfill the learning objectives of each different simulation. Our models are used to aid surgeons in planning complex procedures, teach technical and procedural skills, educate our patients and families about their healthcare, and comfort their loved ones.

We’ll dive into the prototyping process of our diverse portfolio of simulation models developed at BCH, including a pocket-sized ophthalmology trainer for strabismus, a desktop trainer for minimally-invasive inguinal hernia repair, and a laparoscopic simulator for spina bifida repair in pre-term infants. Learn how their design, development, and production was made possible by pushing the limits of additive manufacturing platforms.