Development and Manufacturing of Cervical Stenosis Models for the Integration Into a Neurointerventional Simulation Model

Ischemic stroke is one of the main causes of death and disability worldwide. This can be caused directly by vessel occlusions or secondarily, through constrictions, so-called stenoses. It is therefore important to treat the stenosis as quickly as possible in order to minimize long term patient disability. Since endovascular stroke treatment is a complicated procedure, performed under high time pressure, the establishment of an appropriate training environment is of particular importance. The aim of this study is the development and manufacturing of cervical stenosis models to simulate the endovascular treatment in a physical stroke training and research model to replace training on animal models. Additive Manufacturing (AM) is used to produce the models, as its geometric freedom makes it possible to assemble complicated anatomical shapes. In a series of tests in a full physical simulation environment with medical professionals, the concept of an outer shell held together with two snap fasteners or by Dual Lock™ velcro was shown to be suitable. For the fabrication of the vascular models, the Formlabs material Flexible 80 A Resin proved to be more promising than the Elastic Resin, as the latter ruptured too easily due to the compression in the molded shell.

Subjects

additive manufacturing, medical devices and equipment, simulation/physics based modeling

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Development and Manufacturing of Cervical Stenosis Models for the Integration Into a Neurointerventional Simulation Model