Doctors and technicians at the Bristol Heart Institute in the UK are finding that 3D printing is an ideal way to help them understand the subtleties of various surgical procedures before they enter the operating room. In this case, the team took on a heart defect which often results in death if not immediately treated. So called VSDs are small tears in the ventricular wall of the heart, and the doctors at BHI used their 3D printer to build models to help them visualize the scope of the problem. You can read the whole story here: http://3dprint.com/40946/3d-printed-models-save-lives/


Below are figures from the study: