Abstract:

3D printing technologies are in a period of great development and so are their educational applications for health sciences. FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) printers allow for great advances in veterinary education by creating anatomical models adapted to learning needs.
The knowledge of routine procedures in the veterinary clinic, such as the placement of a pleural drain, represents a key point in the practical training of students. The difficulties associated to obtaining, preparing and conserving cadavers makes their use in practical teaching very difficult. The models printed using FDM technology are a versatile, realistic and inexpensive tool that can be applied in teaching.

In this study, a dog chest was created by segmentation of tomographic studies obtained from a live patient. This data allowed for the creation of a 3D mesh, which was used to create both virtual online access models and physical models manufactured with FDM printing technologies. This thorax introduced into a stuffed animal was used by students to understand and perform the placement and posterior fixation of a pleural drainage.

In order to validate the developed pleural drainage placement model, 25 veterinary students with prior clinical experience (15 of them had observed the procedure in practice before) from the Complutense University (Madrid) performed the placement procedure using the model. 71% of these students considered that the model was useful for understanding the location of anatomical structures and their relations to surrounding organs and tissues. 53% considered that pleural drainage placement in the model was anatomically equivalent to the animal. Participating students expressed their interest in the creation of other models of clinical practice.

FDM technology is capable of producing accurate, low-cost anatomical models, although its main limitation is printing speed. Virtualization and 3D printing are a new and effective educational tool with great potential for development. Both techniques are subject to a learning curve, which can be assumed thanks to the resources available online.

Keywords:

3D printing, veterinary, pleural drainage.