WMU researcher finds a way to repair heart defects using 3D printing

Thanks to innovative work by one of WMU’s mechanical engineering professors, surgery to repair a hole in the heart using 3D printing is being used successfully here in Kalamazoo. In an unusual collaboration, Dr. William Liou, professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace engineering, is working with Dr. Vishal Gupta, an area interventional cardiologist, to transfer images of a patient’s heart to a 3D printed model. Gupta then uses the 3D printed model to plan the repair of the hole so that the procedure best fits the patient’s anatomy.

The process is being used for surgery to correct atrial septal defect, a congenital defect of the heart in which there is a hole in the dividing wall between the two upper chambers of the heart, or atria. The hole allows freshly oxygenated blood that returns to the heart from the lungs to mix with deoxygenated blood that is returning to the heart after circulating throughout the body.  The condition can damage the heart and lungs because of the excessive amount of blood circulating through the two organs, and can cause significant cardiovascular and pulmonary issues.

One surgical option is through cardiac catheterization, in which a small tube with a plug is inserted into the patient’s blood vessel and delivered to the heart to close the hole.  Cardiologists guide the delivery of the plug device using medical imaging. However, this can be quite challenging as the hole can be of different shapes and sizes, and it is difficult to visualize other areas the plug might compromise because of the proximity to the hole.

“This is groundbreaking and quite revolutionary,” Gupta said. “Using a 3D model helps not only pre-plan the procedure but even practice an operation before it is done.  It gives me great confidence that the device is going to be placed accurately for the best outcome for the patient. ”

Liou noted that using 3D technology in medicine has tremendous potential. “The use of 3D printing technologies in engineering fields has advanced from simple prototyping to making functional parts for airplane engines and spacecraft.  We are only beginning to unlock its potential in applications like medicine.”

Liou heads WMU’s Computational Engineering Physics Lab and is involved in numerous research projects to help gain a better understanding of the hemodynamics and biomechanics of the human heart and brain.