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Musings about biomedical 3D printing

Entries in this blog

3D Printing Tutorial: Introduction to Free and Open-Source Software, 3D Slicer, MeshMixer, democratiz3D. From the 2018 RSNA Meeting

This tutorial is based on course I taught at the 2018 RSNA meeting in Chicago, Illinois. It is shared here free to the public. In this tutorial, we walk though how to convert a CT scan of the face into a 3D printable file, ready to be sent to a 3D printer. The patient had a gunshot wound to the face. We use only free or open-source software and services for this tutorial.   There are two parts to this tutorial: Part 1: How to use free desktop software to create your model

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

Using Free and Open-Source Software and Web Services to Create 3D Printable Anatomic Models from Medical Scans, Workshop from the 2017 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Meeting

Hello everybody it's Dr. Mike here again with another medical 3D printing tutorial. In this tutorial we are going to be going over freeware and open-source software options for medical 3D printing. This tutorial is based on a workshop I am giving at the 2017 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Annual Meeting in Chicago Illinois, November 2017. In this tutorial we will be going over desktop software that can be used to create 3D printable anatomic models from medical scans, as well as a

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

Review of the Ultimaker 3 Extended 3D Printed for Medical Applications

Here is my video review of the Ultimaker 3 Extended for medical 3D printing. It was 4 months in the making. Medical anatomical models can be challenging to 3D print because of complex anatomy and large size. This 3D printer has a couple of features which help overcome these challenges. Ultimaker 3 Extended specfications and pricing.   First, the Ultimaker 3 is a dual extrusion printer which allows for two different materials to be used during a single print. This video shows 3D print

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

3D Printing Teeth Tutorial: How to Easily Create 3D Printable Dental, Orthodontic, and Maxillofacial Models from Medical CT Scans

In this tutorial we will learn how to easily create a 3D printable dental, orthodontic, or maxillofacial bone model quickly and easily using the free democratiz3D® file conversion service on the embodi3D.com website. Creating the 3D printable dental model takes about 10 minutes and requires no prior experience or specialized knowledge. Dental 3D printing is one of the many uses for democratiz3D. You can 3D print teeth, braces, dental implants and so much more.       Step

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

How to Easily Tell the Difference Between MRI and CT Scan

If you are planning on using the democratiz3D service to automatically convert a medical scan to a 3D printable STL model, or you just happen to be working with medical scans for another reason, it is important to know if you are working with a CT (Computed Tomography or CAT) or MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan. In this tutorial I'll show you how to quickly and easily tell the difference between a CT and MRI.   I am a board-certified radiologist, and spent years mastering the subt

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

Creating 3D Printable Medical Models and STL Files for Free: Online Services vs. Desktop Software - Slicer and Meshmixer

Note: This tutorial accompanies a workshop I presented at the 2016 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting. The workflow and techniques presented in this tutorial and the conference workshop are identical.     In this tutorial we will be using two different ways to create a 3-D printable medical model of a head and neck which will be derived from a real contrast-enhanced CT scan. The model will show detailed anatomy of the bones, as well as the veins and arteries

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

How to Create a Hollow Shell from a Medical STL File Using MeshMixer

In this brief tutorial we will go over how to use Meshmixer to create a hollow shell from a medical 3D printable STL file. Hollowing out the shell, as shown in the pictures below, can allow you to 3D print the model using much less material that printing a solid piece. The print will take less time and cost less money.   For this tutorial we will use a head that we created from a real medical CT scan in a prior tutorial, " Easily Create 3D Printable Muscle and Skin STL Files from Medic

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

Easily Create 3D Printable Muscle and Skin STL Files from Medical CT Scans

In this tutorial we will learn how to use the free medical imaging conversion service on embodi3D.com to create detailed anatomic muscle and skin 3D printable models in STL file format from medical CT scans. Muscle models show the detailed musculature by subtracting away the skin and fat. Even when created from a scan of an obese person, the model looks like it comes from a bodybuilder, Figure 1A. Skin models show an exact replica of the skin surface. The finest details are captured, including w

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

How to Share, Sell, Organize, and Reprocess Automatically Generated 3D Printable Medical STL Models on Embodi3D

Please note that any references to “Imag3D” in this tutorial should be replaced with “democratiz3D”   In this tutorial we will discuss how to share, sell, organize, and reprocess 3D printable medical models you make using the free online democratiz3D service from embodi3D. democratiz3D is a powerful tool that automatically converts a medical CT scan into a 3D printable file in minutes with minimal user input. It is no longer necessary to master complicated desktop software and spend ho

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

How to Convert Multiple 3D Printable Bone Model STL Files from a CT Scan

Please note that any references to “Imag3D” in this tutorial has been replaced with “democratiz3D”   In this tutorial you will learn how to create multiple 3D printable bone models simultaneously using the free online CT scan to bone STL converter, democratiz3D. We will use the free desktop program Slicer to convert our CT scan in DICOM format to NRRD format. We will also make a small section of the CT scan into its own NRRD file to create a second stand-alone model. The NRRD files wil

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

A Ridiculously Easy Way to Convert CT Scans to 3D Printable Bone STL Models for Free in Minutes

Please note the democratiz3D service was previously named "Imag3D" In this tutorial you will learn how to quickly and easily make 3D printable bone models from medical CT scans using the free online service democratiz3D®. The method described here requires no prior knowledge of medical imaging or 3D printing software. Creation of your first model can be completed in as little as 10 minutes.   You can download the files used in this tutorial by clicking on this link. You must have

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

How to create an NRRD file from a DICOM Medical Imaging Data Set

NRRD is a file format for storing and visualizing medical image data. Its main benefit over DICOM, the standard file format for medical imaging, is that NRRD files are anonymized and contain no sensitive patient information. Furthermore NRRD files can store a medical scan in a single file, whereas DICOM data sets are usually comprised of a directory or directories that contain dozens if not hundreds of individual files. NRRD is thus a good file for transferring medical scan data while protecting

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

3D Printing a Spine Model to Help a Fellow Doctor with Low Back Pain

I was recently contacted by another doctor who asked if I could help him to create a 3D printed replicate of his spine to visualize pinched nerves in his low back and aid with planning a future back surgery. In order to work this doctor has to stand for long hours while performing surgical procedures. Excruciating low back pain had limited his ability to stand to only 30 minutes. As you can imagine, this means he couldn't work. Things only got worse after he had low back surgery.   A C

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

Formlabs Form 2 3D Printer Review: A Great Buy for Medical 3D Printing

Hello Dr. Mike here and welcome to my review of the Form 2 3D printer by Formlabs. The Form 2 is Formlabs newest desktop stereolithography printer. It is a great asset for medical 3D printing with many user friendly features and an acceptable price.   My full review is included here in both video and text. You can download the splenic artery aneurysm file shown in the video. The Form 2 printer is available to purchase. The previous generation Form 1+ can be purchased on Amazon. However

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

How to Upload and Share 3D Printable Files on Embodi3D

If you have a 3D printable file you would like to share with the Embodi3D community the process is very easy.   1) First, get your files ready. STL files are best and have good compatibility with most printers. Make sure your files are of good quality as Embodi3D's file library contains high quality files. If you think you files may have errors in them, you can check them using the Inspector function in MeshMixer. Be sure to compress your files if possible using a compression program l

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

Free and Open-Source 3D Printing Software at RSNA 2015

If you attended my open-source 3D printing didactic talk or open-source 3D printing workshop at this year's RSNA meeting and are interested in a having a copy of my slides (I have been asked several times), or if you are not at the meeting and are just interested, you can find them here. They are an attached PDFs and links.   Manual for Open-Source 3D printing workshop (PDF)   Other resources to help you get 3D Printing the Embodi3D tutorials page: http://www.embodi3d.com/tut

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

Medical 3D Model Creation: From CT Scan to 3D Printable STL File in 20 Minutes Using Free Software Programs 3D Slicer, Blender, and Meshmixer

UPDATED TUTORIAL: A Ridiculously Easily Way to Convert CT Scans to 3D Printable Bone STL Models for Free in Minutes Hello, it's Dr. Mike here again with another tutorial on 3D printing. Proprietary software that creates 3D printable models from medical scans typically costs tens of thousands of dollars to license. But, did you know that you can do the same thing using freeware? It's true! In this tutorial I'm going to show you exactly how to do this.   We will be using the free,

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

Creating a 3D Printable Skull from a CT Scan in 5 Minutes using Freeware.

UPDATED TUTORIAL: A Ridiculously Easily Way to Convert CT Scans to 3D Printable Bone STL Models for Free in Minutes   Hello and welcome back. I hope you enjoyed my last tutorial on creating 3D printable medical models using free software on Macintosh computers. In this brief video tutorial I'll show you how to create a 3D printable skull STL file from a CT scan in FIVE minutes using only free and open source software. In the video I use a program called 3D Slicer, which is available fr

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

How to Create 3D Printable Models from Medical Scans in 30 Minutes Using Free Software: Osirix, Blender, and Meshmixer

UPDATED TUTORIAL: A Ridiculously Easily Way to Convert CT Scans to 3D Printable Bone STL Models for Free in Minutes   Hello, it's Dr. Mike here again with another tutorial and video on medical 3D printing. In this tutorial we're going to learn how to take a DICOM-based medical imaging scan, such as a CT scan, and convert into an STL file in preparation for 3D printing. We will use the free, open-source software program Osirix to do this. Once the file is converted into STL format, we w

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

Choosing the Best Medical Imaging Scan to Create a 3D Printed Medical Model

Hello, it's Dr. Mike here again with another tutorial on medical 3D printing. In this tutorial we are going to learn what types of medical imaging scans can be used for 3D printing. We will also explore the characteristics those scans must have to ensure a high quality 3D print. This is one of a series of 3D printing tutorials that will teach you how to create 3D printed anatomical and medical models yourself. Open source and commercial software are covered in the tutorials along with 3D printer

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

Saving a Spleen with 3D Printing: Pre-Surgical Planning with Medical Models make "Impossible" Surgeries Possible.

Summary: 3D printing is making rapid advances in many areas of medical treatment. In this article, I'll describe how I used recent advances in 3D printing to save a patient from having to have her spleen removed. In the process I broke some new ground in use of 3D printing in surgical planning. The clinical case and 3D printing advances are described in a recently published peer-reviewed paper in the medical journal Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology.   Intro image: The author usi

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

Spine STL files from CT Scans for 3D printing cervical, lumbar, thoracic vertebrae for medical modeling - Download Free Collection

I have received several requests for spine STL files from CT scans and these files have been added to the file vault over time as more people are 3D printing vertebrae for medical moldeling. There was a really good response to my last article about the wonderful 3D printable skull models available for free download on the embodi3D.com website. So, I've decided to do another article about spine models.   Embodi3D.com contains a large collection of spine STL files within the Spine and Pe

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

A Collection of Free Skull Medical Model STL Files from CT Scans - Ready for 3D Printing

A lot of great 3D printable anatomic files have been shared on Embodi3D in the past few years. One of the most popular categories is skulls. There are many files available, and they are organized under Skull and Head STLs in the file Downloads area of the site. You can download any of these files by registering an account and in most cases the files are free to download.   Below I created a list of my favorite skull files for your learning and enjoyment. These 3D printable skull m

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

3D Printing of Bones from CT Scans: A Tutorial on Quickly Correcting Extensive Mesh Errors using Blender and MeshMixer

Hello and welcome back. Once again, I am Dr. Mike, board-certified radiologist and 3D printing enthusiast. Today I'm going to show you how to correct severe mesh defects in a bone model generated from a CT scan. This will be in preparation for 3D printing. I'll be using the free software programs Blender and Meshmixer. In my last medical 3d printing video tutorial, I showed you how to remove extraneous mesh within the medullary cavity of a bone. That technique is best used when mesh defects

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

Preparing CT scans for 3D printing. Cleaning and repairing STL file mesh from bones using Blender, an advanced tutorial

Summary: This is an advanced tutorial and assumes that you already know how to create STL files from CT scans. If you do not yet know how to do this, stay tuned, as a series of tutorials is planned on this website. Here we will use a free, open-source software package Blender to repair and correct a bony pelvis and lumbar spine model generated from a CT scan. If you would like to follow along with this tutorial, you can download the relevant Blender and STL files here, and follow along. >

Dr. Mike

Dr. Mike

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