Looking at the Spine Outside the Body
In July 2024, a patient with a severe cervical spine deformity met Dr. Carolina Sandoval-Garcia from the Department of Neurosurgery in the emergency room. With such a complicated abnormality, Sandoval turned to modern technologies to prepare her team for the surgery, but she only had a few days.
Dr. Carolina Sandoval-Garcia from the Department of Neurosurgery in the Operating Room at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital.
Sandoval first reached out to Dr. Yu-Hui Huang from the Department of Radiology to develop a 3D image. “Using the patient’s CTA imaging, I carefully segmented the cervical spine and the vertebral arteries to create a highly detailed and anatomically accurate 3D representation,” says Huang.
Anatomically accurate 3D representation of the patient’s cervical spine developed by Dr. Yu-Hui Huang from the Department of Radiology.
Recognizing that an actual 3D model would help, Sandoval reached out to the Bakken Medical Device Center (BMDC). “Our team helps patient cases like this 3-4 times a year,” says Paul Rothweiler, BMDC MedWorx Director. At the time, however, BMDC’s 3D printing machines were down and they were unable to print a new model in time for the surgery in 3 days. Rothweiler and his team quickly contacted another 3D printing powerhouse at the University, the Visible Heart® Laboratories (VHL).
Rachel Larson in the Visible Heart® Laboratories 3D printing lab.
While VHL was working on the 3D model, BMDC created a virtual reality (VR) simulation for Sandoval and her team. Within the VR, they were able to view the 3D representation and move it in any direction. “You can rotate and toggle different parts of the spine off, giving you a view at areas that are usually blocked in 2D images” says Theo Nguyen, BMDC undergraduate MedWorx Assistant who helps develop VR tools at BMDC.
Theo Nguyen from the Bakken Medical Device Center editing the VR model of the patient’s anatomically accurate cervical spine.
Sandoval found the VR especially important for her trainees. “At that point, we didn’t have the 3D model yet, so the VR was a great opportunity for me and my residents to take a tour within the spine model and view the abnormality in-depth,” says Sandoval.
Meanwhile, VHL was able to print two different versions of the model “to allow the presurgical team flexibility and mobility around the blood vessels,” says Rachel Larson, VHL 3D printing laboratory researcher.
Anatomically accurate 3D printed model of the patient’s cervical spine developed at the Visible Heart® Laboratories and Bakken Medical Device Center.
Both the VR and 3D model were important for previewing the intricate pathology of the patient. “With the models, it was immediately apparent that the entry point of a vessel was different in one side compared to the other and then we also noticed that on the 2D images,” says Sandoval. “We went back, examined the scans again, and noticed additional anatomical details vital to the surgical planning.” The models were also used to help explain the complex surgery to the patient. “We also had the model eventually during a discussion with the family and this facilitated going over the goals and different surgical steps that we would need and helped them understand the complicated procedure,” says Sandoval.
“Part of our work is to help make clinicians’ jobs easier, make the care teams jobs easier, and sometimes help the families understand what's happening as well,” says Ali Kahlert, BMDC Medical Device Design and Prototyping Support. “And especially for our students, it is a real-life opportunity to work within the fast pace of healthcare and make a big difference.” Undergraduate students like Nguyen attest to this. “When I decided to study computer science instead of biomedical engineering, I still had a desire to work with medical devices. As an undergraduate at BMDC, it’s amazing to be able to work with clinicians and make a real impact in patient care, even though I’m not a doctor or an engineer, ” says Nguyen.
For Sandoval it is a proud feeling to be part of a University that is at the forefront of medtech. “We read about these technologies in medical journals and we hear about it at conferences and meetings. So, it is amazing to be part of it in my actual practice and have it readily available to me and my team,” she says. She and her team plan to publish a peer-reviewed article about this case and its effective use of VR and 3D technologies in the coming year.
