Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center models better health care with 3D printing
Tucked away in a corner at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center is a team of engineers and technologists surrounded by rows of buzzing and whirring machines.
The department, part on-demand manufacturing source and part pre-surgical anatomical modeling shop, has been operating for more than five years. Equipped with a bevy of fourth generation multi-material 3D printers ranging from countertop microwave to chest-freezer size, the Cleveland VA five-member team is constantly busy solving needs that improve the health of Veterans in northeast Ohio and across the nation.
Since 2019, the 3D printing capabilities at the Cleveland VA, and across the VA nationally, have expanded both in volume and in the kind of products and healthcare solutions created. There are generally four categories of output from the 3D Medical Model and Visualizations Lab:
- Patient-specific anatomical models (e.g., pre-surgical models and patient informed consent models)
- Assistive technologies and patient specific tools (e.g., ‘ear-saver’ silicone bands for oxygen tubes)
- Emerging digital dentistry (e.g., surgical implant guides)
- Design and development for clinical and facility services (e.g., custom environmental control unit handles for spinal cord injury rooms)
Perhaps the most significant early output of the 3D printing technology was requested by Dr. Jessie M. Jean-Claude, chief vascular surgeon.
Jean-Claude was facing an unusually challenging procedure—a Veteran with an aneurysm only visible via a CT scan. As she debated the two procedural options, she reached out to innovation manager Bill Corcuera about printing a 3D visual aid.
The model, based on a CT scan of a patient aorta, was created by Corcuera. “If I’d had this earlier, we could have completed the patient’s surgery 5 weeks ago and saved the VA [about] $20,000,” said Jean-Claude upon delivery of the model.
Word spread of the usefulness of the new technology and demand has grown steadily.
Corcuera now manages the 3D Medical Model and Visualizations Lab and has a team of an additional four staff with experience ranging from biomedical, mechanical and electrical engineering and design as well as an experienced diagnostic radiologic technologist.
“As an OT, it is my job to help individuals overcome physical and social challenges,” said Lauryn Wasil, an occupational therapist in spinal cord injury service. “The 3D print lab has been a great resource to collaborate with to develop one-of-a-kind items.”
Wasil had a short consultation with biomedical engineers Dylan Beckler and Zach Thumser in the 3D printing lab. “They really understood what was needed, and they helped create a wheelchair button cover and extended knob devices to maximize Veterans independence and safety at home and out in the community,” she said.
As one of the products in constant demand from the lab is now eyeglasses, Corcuera brought in Sean Wrubel, optician/blind rehabilitation specialist to start up this new service a few years ago. Wrubel is producing a steady stream of glasses—about 80 pair per week—on a dedicated next generation lens edger. Cost analysis found that manufacturing of eyeglasses locally saves both time and money compared to ordering from an external vendor.
In March, the team saw their first peer-reviewed article published in “3D Printing in Medicine”. The Cleveland team worked with a regional academic institution to validate a standardized quality assurance protocol developed at the Cleveland VA utilizing very specific dimensions with quantified tolerances. It’s a step toward standardizing protocols allowing identical models to be created at multiple locations, and to ensuring models are validated as dimensionally accurate.
“3D printing and emerging technological innovations are transforming VA healthcare here in Cleveland,” Corcuera said. “But as the VA presses forward, healthcare for all patients across the country will benefit.”
An introductory video on VANEOHS 3D printing is available for viewing.