3D Printed Patient-Specific Device Significantly Improved Safety in Patient Receiving Transoral Endoscopic Thyroidectomy

We have exciting news to share with the 3DHEALS community. The presenters from last year, Dr. Yi-Ting Yeh and Dr.Rui-Yu Chen published a study about the clinical outcome of the application of a 3D-printed protector for Transoral Endoscopic Thyroidectomy. The results were astonishing. Their design, supported by clinical evidence, could become a sustainable service for future patients, creating huge value, especially in patient safety. 

More than 52,000 adults are diagnosed with Thyroid cancer in the United States every year. It is the most common cancer in women from twenty to thirty-four years old. Major treatment involves surgery plus radioactive iodine ablation in a certain condition. Traditional thyroidectomy is performed through a two to three-inch transverse incision over the low anterior neck. The scar is apparent, especially in patients with keloid-prone skin.

Transoral Endoscopic Approach for Thyroidectomy is a cosmetic appealing surgical technique for treating thyroid cancer. Instead of removing the cancerous thyroid through the incision on the anterior neck, which is unsightly, surgeons remove the cancerous thyroid through a small incision in the mouth. No visible scar can be seen after the surgery.

However, this novel technique required a keen understanding of anatomy. One of the complications is mental nerve injury, causing low lip paresthesia. Patients suffer from numbness, sometimes pain around the low lip region, impairing quality of life. The rate of mental nerve injury was reported to be as high as 75% in the initial learning period of robotic-assisted TOETVA.

3D Printed patient-specific device significantly reduced the incidence of mental nerve injury in the procedure, according to a recent collaborative study reported by the Department of Surgery and 3D Printing Center at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. (Printing a Three-Dimensional Patient-Specific Safety Device for Reducing the Potential Risk of Mental Nerve Injury During Transoral Thyroidectomy) Yeh and Chen et al. created a patient-specific protector by a high-resolution facial CT scan. The device fits the patients’ teeth perfectly, creating a firm foundation. The lateral margin of the protector serves as a marker indicating the location of the mental nerve, preventing intraoperative nerve injury.

According to the article, from March 2017 to March 2019, none of the 66 cases received thyroidectomy transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach (TOETVA) suffered from mental nerve injury.

Through the ongoing close collaboration between the surgical and design team, 3D printed patient-specific safety device is a sustainable and valuable service for patients receiving transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy.

Reference:

3D Printed Patient-Specific Device Significantly Improved Safety in Patient Receiving Transoral Endoscopic Thyroidectomy

About the Author:

Kuan-Lin Chen is currently 3DHEALS Taipei community manager, and his bio can be found here.

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The post Taipei Update: 3D Printing for Transoral Endoscopic Thyroidectomy appeared first on 3DHeals.

3DHEALS Taipei 3D Printing in Healthcare: Fostering Translational Innovation

Additive Manufacturing + Bioprinting + Clinical Design Engineering

Intro:

Do you know with the help of advanced medical imaging, clinical design engineering, and 3D printing technology, surgeons are reducing operative time and improving patient safety?
Do you know top-notch surgical teams are building next-generation devices using rapid digital prototyping?
Do you know recent development in bioprinting is bring humanity one step further in making artificial organs?

Participate in the 2019 3DHeals Taipei event; you will have the chance to get a glimpse of advanced translational research development. No matter you are a clinician looking for an engineer to realize your idea; an industrial designer searching for a clinical consultant; a scientist looking for clinical application of your one of a kind lab tech; or just a person looking for someone to discuss your “Next Big Idea,” you have to come to our event on September 28th, 2019.

Location:

Taipei Veterans General Hospital Clinical Innovation Center

9F, Third Outpatient Clinic Building, Taipei Veterans General Hospital

Time:

September 28th, 2019 Saturday

9 am ~ 12pm (GMT+8)

List of Speakers:

• Sanjay Prabhu, MBBD, FRCR – Clinical Director, SIMPeds3D Print Program, Boston Children’s Hospital
• Evin Chen, PhD – Deputy Director, 3D Printing Medical Research Center, China Medical University Hospital
• Chi-Kuang Feng, MD – Division of Pediatric Orthopedics, Department of Orthopedics, Taipei Veterans General Hospital
• Tien-Hsiang Wang – Division of Plastic Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital

Agenda (September 28th, 2019)

● 0830-0900 Registration
● 0900-0910 Opening
● 0910-0925 3DHeals Intro “Fostering Collaborative Translational Innovation”
● 0930-1000 Sanjay Prabhu, MBBS, FRCR – Clinical Director, SIMPeds3D Print
Program, Boston Children’s Hospital● 1000-1020 Chi-Kuang Feng, MD – Department of Orthopedics, Taipei Veterans General Hospital
● 1020-1040 Coffee Break (YM Makers Lab)
● 1040-1110 Evin Chen, PhD – Deputy Director, 3D Printing Medical Research
Center, China Medical University Hospital
● 1110- 1130 Tien-Hsiang Wang MD, PhD – Divsion of Plastic Surgery, Taipei
Veterans General Hospital
● 1130-1200 Panel Discussion

The post Taipei 2019: Fostering Translational Innovation 🗓 appeared first on 3DHeals.

On September 11st, a nice Tuesday night, 3DHeals Taipei was held at the newly established Clinical Innovation Center(CiC) in Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Hundreds of participants from diverse backgrounds joined the event, including doctors, dentists, engineers and entrepreneurs. The event was aimed to connect innovators and early adopters on a single platform in healthcare 3D printing, bio-printing, and related technologies.

Participants had been enthusiastically networking and discussing projects before the opening, showing great passion over the upcoming event. 3D printed gadgets exhibited by Industrial Technology Research Institute grabbed the participants’ attention, leading to more discussion and connection. There are four topics in 3DHeals Taipei, and the following paragraphs will give you a quick glimpse of the overwhelming talks.

3DHEALS Taipei started with the opening remarks gave by the founder of 3DHeals, Jenny Chen M.D. She enlightened the audience with the booming 3D printing market and the ongoing trend worldwide. She also stressed the importance of the collaboration between the medicine and engineering industry.

3DHeals Taipei started with the opening remarks gave by the founder of 3DHeals, Jenny Chen M.D. She enlightened the audience with the booming 3D printing market and the ongoing trend worldwide. She also stressed the importance of the collaboration between the medicine and engineering industry.

Dr. Yi-Ting Yeh and Dr. Jui-Yu Chen, both surgeons from Taipei General Veterans Hospital, talked about how surgeons become designers in transoral thyroidectomy. Surgeons often face the challenge of severing the mental nerve when operating via endoscope because of the great variety of patient’s anatomy. Luckily, by innovatively combing CT scans with 3D mapping, surgeons are able to have a clear understanding of the anatomy and perform via Transoral Endoscopic Thyroidectomy Vestibular Approach (TOETVA) that minimizes the surgical wound.

Wei-Chin Huang, from ITRI Laser & Additive Manufacturing Technology Center, focused on the application of 3D printing and the role ITRI played in the industry in Taiwan. He started his talk by introducing various medical device produced by different companies worldwide, then emphasized on the collaborations ITRI has with local start-ups in Taiwan. Start-ups often face obstacles of the lack of funds for the 3D printing machine, and that is where ITRI steps in. ITRI provides hardware and technique advice for newly established companies, helping the industry to thrive.

Chao-Ming Chen, a specialist in the musculoskeletal tumor, gave the audience an overview of how 3D-printed bone fragments changed the way surgeons repair tumor excision sites and improve the prognosis of patients with the constantly improving precision and efficiency. Patients no longer need to be amputated because of the loss of bone while 3D-printed bones can rebuild the bones infiltrated by tumors. Dr. Chen gave the audience an excellent example of the successful collaboration between medicine and engineering.

Jimmy Su, the CEO of enlighten materials, closed up 3DHeals Taipei by talking about the utilization of 3D-printing in Dentistry. Dentistry is one of the earliest field 3D-printing had been applied on, making it more mature and profitable compared to other start-ups. Jimmy used the products of his company to introduce the evolution of 3D-printing techniques and welcomed innovators in various backgrounds to collaborate.

3DHeal Taipei closed up after the four inspiring talks. The meeting of great minds tonight would surely bring the medical 3D-printing industry in Taiwan into a new era.

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The post Taipei Taiwan Event Recap: 2018 – What’s next after the hype? appeared first on 3DHeals.