In Vitro, Nonrigid Model of Aortic Arch Aneurysm

Purpose: To develop and validate a controlled patient-derived process for producing an in vitro, nonrigid model of aortic arch aneurysm. Materials and Methods: A three-dimensional magnetic resonance (MR) angiogram derived from a patient with an aortic arch aneurysm was segmented by using a homemade software package, meshed and converted to Standard Tessellation Language (STL) file format. The authors transferred this format to a stereolithography machine to produce a replica of the entire aorta, including the arch aneurysm and supraaortic arteries, by pouring silicone rubber. Results: A sturdy, life-size, soft, transparent plastic cast, accurately reproducing both the internal and external anatomy of the aortic aneurysm, was produced in less than 1 week. Comparison between the STL file format of MR angiographic images of both the patient's aorta and model enabled validation of the reliability of the manufacturing process. Conclusions: The combination of easy segmentation and conversion to the STL file format with stereolithography techniques enabled a realistic, life-size, silicone vascular phantom to be created from a live patient imaging dataset.