Use of a 3D printed, color-coded airway model for bronchoscopy training and anatomy learning

Tracheobronchial anatomy for bronchoscopy education is challenging. 3D printing (3DP) is a promising technology to design bronchoscopy simulators. We created a 3DP tracheobronchial model and color-coded the airways to train first-year pulmonary fellows. A pre- and post-test, practical test and post-...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of 3D printing in medicine 2023-06, Vol.7 (3)
Main Authors: Leba, Christopher T, Vydro, Samuel, Drapeau, Scott, Romero, Dylan, Harmon, Derek, Norris, Madeleine, Perez, Alyssa, Bunker, Michael, Anwar, Shafkat, Sewell, Justin L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
3D printing
3D visualization
anatomical training
bronchoscopy
education
simulation training
surgical training
technology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Tracheobronchial anatomy for bronchoscopy education is challenging. 3D printing (3DP) is a promising technology to design bronchoscopy simulators. We created a 3DP tracheobronchial model and color-coded the airways to train first-year pulmonary fellows. A pre- and post-test, practical test and post-test questionnaires were used to evaluate the curriculum implementation. For six fellows the pre- and post-test mean score improved from 11.5/22 (SD = ±1.71) to 16.2/22 (SD = ±2.79). Practical testing mean was 34.5/54 (SD = ±5.82). Questionnaires rated the 3DP model favorably. Our pilot curriculum using a color-coded 3DP model demonstrated improvement in airway identification with favorable ratings by fellows. We posit conceptual frameworks in play and how we address them in future models. Bronchoscopy is a procedure where a flexible tube is inserted into a patient’s lungs to diagnose or treat medical conditions. Identifying the anatomy correctly in the procedure is difficult. We created a 3D-printed model of the lung airways with color-coded sections to facilitate training of the procedure and learning the anatomy. Pulmonary fellows trained using the model and showed improvement in their ability to identify lung airways. This curriculum demonstrates a novel use of 3D printing to create a color-coded model to teach complex lung airway anatomy. The authors of this article created a 3D-printed tracheobronchial model showing improvement in pulmonary fellow anatomy learning.
ISSN:2059-4755
2059-4755
2059-4763
DOI:10.2217/3dp-2023-0005