Engineering
Patient-Specific Heart Defect Model
Babies born with atrial septal defects (small holes in the heart) can be hard to interpret from CT scans alone, and outsourcing patient-specific 3D-printed models costs thousands of dollars and takes 8–12 weeks. Dr. Arun Chandran, a pediatric cardiology physician at UF Health Shands Hospital, approached me as the Cardiothoracic Team Captain of Dream Team Engineering, a student-run nonprofit on campus dedicated to healthcare innovation, to build an in-house pipeline for rapid, low-cost defect models.
My Role
Lead Biomedical Engineer
Duration
1.5 years
Tools
3D Slicer, Meshmixer, 3D Printing
Link
Overview
Dr. Chandran required a rapid, cost-effective workflow for producing patient-specific heart models that enabled detailed pre-operative planning and provided a visual aid to communicate complex procedures to patients’ families - without the delays and expense of outsourced services.
Built an end-to-end in-house process:
Segment patient's CT scan in 3D Slicer
Re-segment and refine meshes in Meshmixer to eliminate artifacts
Collaborate with Dr. Chandran to determine optimal slicing angles
3D print the model
Post-process via ethyl acetate soak and manual support removal
Deliver polished models in under five weeks at zero cost to Dr. Chandran
Research
Partnered with Dr. Chandran to define critical anatomical landmarks and tolerance requirements.
Audited existing segmentation and 3D printing workflow for lead-time and quality benchmarks.
Conducted iterative test prints, logging surface and dimensional issues to refine our protocol.
Design
We began by segmenting the defect in 3D Slicer. After the initial export produced a “black cube” artifact, I re-segmented and refined the mesh in Meshmixer with manual smoothing to eliminate rough edges. Next, we collaborated to determine the optimal slicing angles that would clearly expose the hole. Each iteration was printed and then soaked in ethyl acetate to soften supports. Finally, I meticulously removed all support structures by hand using pliers, a screwdriver, and a Dremel, producing smooth, accurate models ready for pre-operative planning and family consultations.
Results
Delivered patient-specific atrial septal defect model in under five weeks, achieving a 90% per-model cost reduction.
Dr. Chandran now relies on Dream Team Engineering for all his 3D-printed heart models and commissioned additional defect cases.
