Image Credit: Dr. Matthew Bramlet; Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center.
The mission of the NIH 3D Print Exchange Heart Library is to inspire the exponential growth of the understanding of congenital heart disease through the open sharing of hearts and ideas. We have brought together the thought leaders of congenital cardiac 3D modeling to bring an adaptable heart library with an extensive peer review board.
Models in the library are reviewed by a panel of subject matter experts, so anyone can use them with confidence to improve their understanding of cardiac anatomy.
The shared resources of this library allow for efficient transformation of image data sets to 3D rendered heart models.
We hope to inspire an educational desire to understand congenital cardiac anatomy, and to create an environment where new uses of this technology are generated and shared.
By raising awareness of the utility of 3D models, we hope to promote more widespread adoption of 3D prints as a part of the physician's toolbox.
We have outlined essential quality metrics by which each model is rendered and assessed. This standardizes the rendering process for the peer reviewers and submitters.
We hope to transform the industry by collectively improving and refining the process of rendering models as well as calling for solutions to problems as they present themselves.