title: Rapid prototyping: a new tool in understanding and treating structural heart disease.
abstract: As the appreciation of structural heart disease in children and adults has increased and as catheter-based closure procedures are now being performed in clinical practice, cardiovascular physicians have multiple compelling new reasons to better understand cardiac anatomic and spatial relationships. Current 2-dimensional imaging techniques remain limited both in their ability to represent the complex 3-dimensional relationships present in structural heart disease and in their capacity to adequately facilitate often complex corrective procedures. This review discusses the cardiovascular applications of rapid prototyping, a new technology that may not only play a significant role in the planning of catheter-based interventions but also may serve as a valuable educational tool to enhance the medical community's understanding of the many forms of structural heart disease.
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado at Denver, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Adam R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Hansgen
authors.forename: Onno
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Wink
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Quaife
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Carroll
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D032882:Comprehension; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006343:Heart Septal Defects / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D016896:Treatment Outcome