MOI 3D Medical Printing Program

This model of an arthritic elbow was created by a  medical student studying a patient's elbow anatomy for a surgical case. The model was printed from the patient specific MRI DICOM files. The surgery the student was involved in was an arthroscopic debridement of osteophytes from the elbow. Arthroscopy uses a camera and instruments inserted into the joint to perform various tasks. An understanding of 3D anatomy is extremely important to prevent getting disoriented and to accomplish the surgical task. The bony arthritic outgrowths in this model are painful and limit motion.  Creating a model like this greatly helps students and surgeons-in-training prepare for a wide variety of orthopedic cases. These cases involve topics such as  fracture fixation management, joint instability, tumor defect and bone loss repair, deformity alignment correction, and patient specific guides for surgery. The Missouri Orthopedic Institute program allows students the ability to learn the principals of 3D modeling and printing. They develop the skills to independently 3D print medical models for medical education and surgical planning to better educate and care for a diverse patient population.