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Introduction
Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology was first conceptualized in the early 1980s as a means of rapid prototyping.1 Also referred to as additive manufacturing,2 this technology has revolutionized the fields of engineering and product design and aided the rapid production of customized physical objects, especially small-sized ones.3
In the 1960s, flexible bronchoscopy was introduced as a diagnostic instrument.4 Flexible bronchoscopy is a well-established and relatively safe procedure for both diagnostic and therapeutic interventions targeting a variety of pulmonary diseases.5 However, bronchoscopies performed by untrained or inexperienced personnel may result in high risks of complications and misdiagnosed disease.6,7 Simulation-based training is commonly used for bronchoscopy. In general, simulation-based training is more effective than the traditional apprenticeship model.8 However, access to commercially available simulators that fulfill the needs of both trainers and trainees is difficult. Therefore, an adequate simulator must be developed to enhance the quality of bronchoscopy training.
In this study, we successfully used 3D-printing technology to develop a 3D bronchial tree model as a high-fidelity simulator for bronchoscopy, and we then demonstrated the validity of this model.
Methods
This section details each step of the development of our 3D-printed bronchial tree model.
Image Acquiring and Processing to Produce a 3D Model
We first designed our 3D bronchial tree model using the Magics 22.02 3D image processing and analysis software (Materialise, Leuven, Belgium) (Fig. 1A). To create the basic outline of the 3D model, we used a white-light handheld 3D scanner (EinScan Pro 2X Plus, Shining 3D Tech, Hangzhou, China) to scan the commercially available models of bronchial trees. We also bought a royalty-free lung 3D computed tomography (CT) scan file from a third-party web site (https://sketchfab.com) as a reference for our originally created 3D bronchial tree model. Generally, for educational models, both convenience and cost of repair are regarded as critical …
Correspondence: Ke-Yun Chao RRT PhD, Department of Respiratory Therapy, Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital, Fu Jen Catholic University, No. 69, Guizi Road, Taishan District, New Taipei City 24352, Taiwan. E-mail: ck_qq{at}hotmail.com
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