Lately I've been working on creating a 3D printed human heart from a CT scan. Printing cardiovascular structures like the heart is more difficult than bony structures since the blood vessels are usually not well visualized without a CT scan that uses intravenous contrast. Furthermore, the heart is always moving, and special techniques need to be performed during the scan to generate high-quality images that are free from motion artifact.

This is one of several models I've been working on. I haven't yet tried 3D print this model, but I thought I would share it with the community to see what people think. The STL file can be downloaded here.

If you 3D print this model, please share your results with the community. Post an update or upload pictures of your printed model. If you are creating your own 3D printable models, please consider sharing them with the community in the File Vault.

On another note, I am considering putting together some video tutorials on how to create 3D printed anatomic models from CT scans using freeware. If you are interested in seeing tutorials like this, please leave a comment. Happy printing!