3D print fetus from ultrasound images

[Dr. Mike]

I receive a lot of inquiries to my account. I'm going to try to share them with the community in the hope that any information that is shared can help many others. A member recently contacted me and asked the following:

 

"Do you have any experience in dicom images by TUI mode in Voluson E10, for print 3d fetus models"

 

Unfortunately, I don't personally have experience with 3D printing ultrasound images. I'm not sure how the slice-by-slice registration will work as ultrasound images are not in fixed orthographic planes. However, I know it must be possible since there is a company that is 3D printing fetuses. http://www.3ders.org/articles/20160118-3d-printed-fetuses-the-hottest-parenting-trend-of-2016.html

 

Anyone in the community have experience with converting ultrasound to STL?

[AntoniosA]

I have some experience i am experimenting with 3d printing from us scans. I am in the stage that i have done a few prints and i am trying to streamline the process. If anyone can help on that and also receive help from my experience so far i would be happy to exchange ideas.

[metcheverryc]

Hi!

Does anyone know how to transform a .vol file from a 3D ultrasound and transform it into a .stl file?

Thanks

Mauricio

[mikefazz]

Mauricio I would be interested in taking a look do you have a vol file I can look at?

 

In general 3D US renderings from scans look to have a long way to go before it is anywhere close to the quality of a decent MRI or CT

 

Mike

[Peter3D]

On 8 April 2017 at 5:36 AM, AntoniosA said:

I have some experience i am experimenting with 3d printing from us scans. I am in the stage that i have done a few prints and i am trying to streamline the process. If anyone can help on that and also receive help from my experience so far i would be happy to exchange ideas.

Hello AntoniosA,

We are trying to produce 3D prints of fetus from US scans and have just started looking ino the process.

We are a company that manufactures higher end bespoke 3D printers  for different purposes including some medical objects.

We inderstand the steps will be:

1 obtain the DICOM files from the ultrasound scans

2 convert the DICOM data to an STL file

3 use other software to clean up/ repair / transform the STL CAD file

4 convert to gcode and print

Steps 3 and 4 is what we do and is our field of expertise.

Our problem has been producing the STL file.  We have done some research and have seen what 3D slicer can do with  DICOM files from CT And MRI scans.

 

So far we have not been able to produce the stl file fom the DICOM files we have been given.

We get a problem in loading the data. 

Wevare wonering if the use of 3DSLICER is the correct software to use?

You mentiom that you have done a few prints so we are interested in how you got the CAD stl or OBJ file?

 

We can certainly help with the processing and 3D printing of the CAD file once that is produced. 

We are able go scale our own printers to print any size object and in different materials and in different ways ( e.g dense hard plastic fetus, flexi plastic, solid or hollow etc.

We can provide any advice and information in these areas.

Best regards. Peter.

[Peter3D]

On 8 June 2017 at 8:41 AM, mikefazz said:

Mauricio I would be interested in taking a look do you have a vol file I can look at?

 

In general 3D US renderings from scans look to have a long way to go before it is anywhere close to the quality of a decent MRI or CT

 

Mike

hello Mike,

I have just answered the entry from AntonioSA.

We manufacture bespoke printers for different users including medcal customers.

Our expertise is in using software and our own hardware to process CAD files and 3D print.

Our problem is the process to get the ultrasound files in DICOM format into an STL format. ( we have been trying 3DSLICER) Is it possible to use this software to do the conversion we get an error when try to load these DCOM files?

We have DICOM files that we can provide.

Best regards Peter3D

[mikefazz]

Hi Peter,

 

I don't mind taking a look at the data though if it is from a clinical scan it may not be of the correct format or type to create a 3D model from.  To get a 3D model I need a 3D volume of data, the other US scan I have looked at was just a random collection of images, some renderings, some montages.  As a first step open the data in ImageJ to see what you have if you are not sure.

 

Also I wouldn't think of 3DSlicer as a 'conversion' software.  Taking a volume of data and getting a desired 3D (surface) model is usually more of a process.

 

Mike

[Additive Lab]

On ‎8‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 6:33 AM, Peter3D said:

hello Mike,

I have just answered the entry from AntonioSA.

We manufacture bespoke printers for different users including medcal customers.

Our expertise is in using software and our own hardware to process CAD files and 3D print.

Our problem is the process to get the ultrasound files in DICOM format into an STL format. ( we have been trying 3DSLICER) Is it possible to use this software to do the conversion we get an error when try to load these DCOM files?

We have DICOM files that we can provide.

Best regards Peter3D

 

Hi Peter,

      I've been trying to find a file from an ultrasound that I can play with to see if I can get it to a printable state. Would I be able to get a copy of your DICOM files to try?

 

Cheers Dale

[kopachini]

Hi everybody,

I want to make 3D model from 3D US, too :). I was at our gynecology department and they have GE Voluson S8 (I think). I tried to copy several 3D scans and now I see that I got only single file, .4dv extension that I couldn't open with 3D Slicer.

I downloaded instruction manual for that US and will read it, until then please tell me what I did wrong and am I on a good way :)?

[Dr. Mike]

I too, would like to know how to do this. Hopefully someone will share their method!

[kopachini]

Hi everyone.

So, I didn't want to write anything until I make a model from US, but unfortunately, I am still in process of making one.

I managed to save study in DICOM data, BUT :(, I have only one file (not several as in CT studies). When I try to upload that data in 3D Slicer it says that that file doesn't have volume (geometry information). I contacted 3D Slicer help and they couldn't help me (they advised me to try to check data by myself)... since I am not so familiar with software and data, I have contacted official service for GE in my country and they said that, probably, the problem is in 3D Slicer, that it can't read dcm data from GE machine. Since I don't have access to 3D US machine (it is not in my department and I depend on one colleague during clinical program/exams and his shift one day a week), I am now stuck. As soon I make some progress I will let you know, or if anyone has any suggestions, please help me or let me know :).

[Dr. Mike]

I'm not sure if this is the problem, but unlike CT and MRI, with ultrasound you never know exactly where in space or along what plane the image is acquired. All the images are relative to the probe, and the probe is wherever the sonologist puts it on the surface of the patient's body. How can the computer know where to put the voxels from multiple images together in space? Anyone know the answer?

 

[kopachini]

I contacted one private clinic in my city which has 3D US, and they are apparently really good at it. They told me that they are too busy right now so I couldn't obtain new DICOM data, but I will call them again and ask them if I could come.

But the doctor who works there told me that they have GE Voluson S10 (newest model) which have build in the possibility to save study as .stl file... same as Philips IntelliSpace portal that was told before.

I did a little bit of research and really there it is, but not for S10, yet for E10 model:

http://www3.gehealthcare.com/en/products/categories/ultrasound/voluson/voluson_e10#tabs/tab44799EF6884146E1A27A6929FCAB17D5

 

Keep your fingers crossed so I could have a glance at that machine in a very soon time

[Peter3D]

Hello Kopachini,

 

I have some news for you.

 

While the new GE machines have the facility to export images form DICOM files in STL format (either as a stand alone model or a relief model), they have unbundled the functionality so that the same functionality can be available using their stand alone software called 4D View where older GE models do not have this functionality built in.

 

This allows you to access a DICOM file and export the image as a STL file.

 

In theory you can download this software for the GE website, but it is rarely successful. And you need to be a member of the Voulson club.

 

The only way I have found is to make friends with an owner of a GE system and ask them to request a demo version of the software.

 

This is what I did.

 

My (small) company 3D Industries is now working on this aspect as one of areas of activity with a view to commercialization. Let me know what you are doing and we may have a common interest.

 

Best regards

Peter

[kopachini]

Here are two volumes obtained by GE Voluson E10 and exported as .stl file.

I think that a lot depends on fetal head position and gestation age if you want to have nice fetal face model. Personally, I wasn't present when study was made.

 

[david@avantbiomedical.com]

On 3/7/2018 at 10:44 AM, kopachini said:

Hi everybody,

I want to make 3D model from 3D US, too :). I was at our gynecology department and they have GE Voluson S8 (I think). I tried to copy several 3D scans and now I see that I got only single file, .4dv extension that I couldn't open with 3D Slicer.

I downloaded instruction manual for that US and will read it, until then please tell me what I did wrong and am I on a good way :)?

Hi, I also have a Voluson S8 machine and when I exported the ultrasound into DIcom it appears as an screen capture and Im not able to segment the volume, do you have any success so far that you can share?

Thanks,

 

[kopachini]

Hi David,

don't use this shading reconstruction for segmentation. You have to scan desired volume (baby face) and then that volume you have save as uncompresed DICOM data if I recall (you will have several choices from drop down menu, and you can try to save as raw dicom data, compresed dicom data, too... and give it a try and open it in 3D Slicer).. Hope this helps a little bit, I didn't do that for 3 years now and I have forgot all the exact steps how to properly save data in GE US for segmentation.

[yatay]

Any updates about this topic? Has anyone managed to 3d print the baby with the data from ultrasound yet?

[kopachini]

On 10/28/2020 at 6:34 PM, yatay said:

Any updates about this topic? Has anyone managed to 3d print the baby with the data from ultrasound yet?

Hi @yatay, I did long time ago... but not since because no one didn't ask for it. To be short, as for now, using 3D Slicer you can make stl model from GE and Philips ultrasound DICOM data

[ParFi]

Hi kopachini

Since you have made a lot of research on this matter I was wanderind if you could help me.

What instructions can I give the doctor using the GE so I can make it easy for him to export a .DICOM? 

thanx

[kopachini]

On 3/31/2021 at 6:59 PM, ParFi said:

Hi kopachini

Since you have made a lot of research on this matter I was wanderind if you could help me.

What instructions can I give the doctor using the GE so I can make it easy for him to export a .DICOM? 

thanx

Depending the machine they have.

New models have export stl function. Older models have export DICOM data (but i dont rememember should you choose compressed or uncompressed), and then import it in 3D slicer and segment it.