3D printing can recreate your vascular system for pre-op practice

Aneurysms, which are tiny blood-filled bulges in the wall of a blood vessel, are responsible for nearly 500,000 deaths a year worldwide when they burst before being treated.

Part of the problem in treating them, particularly brain aneurysms, is that they're located among a complex maze of vessels that can be difficult to navigate even with the most modern technology.

With that in mind, physicians and researchers in Buffalo have worked with 3D printer maker Stratasys to develop a method of printing out a patient's complete vascular system in just 24 hours in order to practice navigating it prior to actual surgery.

Stratasys is working with the The Jacobs Institute, the Kaleida Health's Gates Vascular Institute and biomedical engineers at the University at Buffalo to create the full-body vasculature models.

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