Materialise has launched the HeartPrint 3D printing service to provide patient-specific cardiovascular models from medical image data. The company now offers a continuously expanding library of off-the-shelf 3D printed anatomical models as well as a service for patient-specific models printed from DICOM images (CT or MRI). Thanks to 3D Printing technology, these models are able to combine a range of rigid and flexible materials of varying transparencies in a single print, replicating more than just the shape of a patient's anatomy, the company says. "At Materialise, we are proud to offer these accurate anatomical models. Our proprietary multi-material processes allow us to 3D print both diseased (e.g., calcified) or healthy anatomy. I am excited about the enthusiastic response from the market and looking forward to future advancements we have in the pipeline," said Peter Verschueren, cardiovascular team leader, Materialise. The benchtop models can be designed to reflect a range of patient scans from a certain demographic or pathology, and used to test the device deployment, perform flow studies, and analyze deformations in the patient's anatomy. This allows testing of devices like stent grafts or heart valves to be deployed pre-operatively to detect possible problems in advance and design iterations to be made before expensive animal testing or first in man trials. For more information, visit Materialise. Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website. | 
