DHA drives forward patient care with pioneering 3D printing lab

The newly opened 3D Printing Lab located at the DHA’s Innovation Centre provides medical professionals at DHA with patient specific anatomical models allowing them to conduct detailed pre-operative analysis and to improve patient communication.

The workflow starts with patient data acquisition, typically from a CT or MRI scan. This patient data is then brought into medical image segmentation software, which allows the physician to isolate the specific anatomical region of interest. This digital model is then converted into a 3D printable file and produced using the state-of-the -art 3D printers in the lab.

Dr Farida Al Khaja, CEO of Medical Support Services and Nursing Sector at the DHA explained that this initiative in is line with the DHA’s vision of incorporating latest medical technology in the health sector with a primary aim to better patient care. Additionally, technology also helps improve efficiencies and reduce costs.

Al Khaja said this initiative in particular will help DHA medical professionals achieve greater surgical success particularly for complex cases.

She added that the lab is an important milestone in the execution of the DHAs 3D Printing Strategy, which focusses on deploying the latest technologies to improve patient outcomes and support the healthcare ecosystem of Dubai to excel in difficult medical surgeries.

Sinterex has deployed its biomedical engineers to operate the 3D lab. Julian Callanan, Managing Director, explained that by having the biomedical engineers on site and working side-by-side with the medical professionals, helps boost communication and cooperation and it reduces the time taken to develop the final 3D model.

Mai Al Dossari, Director of the DHA’s Health Innovation Centre, said, ‘This is the first major project in the Innovation Centre since it was inaugurated. The 3D Lab has been involved in supporting the DHA’s surgeons in successfully planning and achieving complex surgeries. The Cardiology team at Rashid Hospital used 3D models to pre-operatively plan and test the fitting of Trans Aortic Valve Implants. The Maxillofacial team have produced models of patients’ jaws and skulls taking these into surgery for visual reference and intra-operative monitoring. Whilst at Hatta Hospital, the Orthopedics department has been printing knees and shoulders to support planning for reconstruction surgeries.’

Not only is the initiative good for patients, recent research shows the commercial benefits to bringing 3D printing to the point-of-care.

A recent study published in September by Academic Radiology estimated that Hospitals using anatomical models could save more than $3,700 per surgery by reducing time spent in the Operating Theatre. The authors reached their conclusions by analyzing more than 30 different studies related to 3D models used in orthopedic and maxillofacial surgery. Based on that review, they estimate that anatomical models could shorten surgery time by about 62 minutes on average.

Dr Mohammed Al Redha, Director of Project Management Office and Informatics and Smart Health at DHA says, “This is an important strategic step for the DHA, putting the healthcare entity in a bracket of just 3 per cent of hospitals in the world that have integrated Point-of-Care 3D printing facilities. It is also a further example of how the DHA is integrating 3D Printing into its day-to-day workflows to secure better results for its patients. This initiative is in line with the vision of Dubai’s 3D printing strategy to become a global 3D printing technology hub by 2030.”