Hiding in the corner of Lewis Talk Cleveland Virginia Medical Center is a team of engineers and technicians surrounded by bustling queues of machines.
The department, some on-demand manufacturing sources, and some pre-surgical anatomical modeling shops have been open for over five years. The Cleveland VA 5 member team is equipped with a fourth-generation multi-material 3D printer ranging from countertop microwaves to chest freezer sizes, constantly solving the needs of improving the health of veterans across Northeast Ohio and across the nation.
Since 2019, Cleveland VA's 3D printing capabilities have expanded nationwide across VA, both in volume and in the products and healthcare solutions created. Typically there are four categories of output from the 3D Medical Model and Visualizations Lab.
Patient-specific anatomical models (e.g., preoperative and patient-informed consent models) assisted technology and patient-specific tools (e.g., “ear-cuff” silicon bands for oxygen tubes) emerging digital dentistry (e.g., surgical implant guide) clinical and facility services design and development
Perhaps the most important early production of 3D printing technology was requested by Dr. Jesse M. Jean-Claude, chief vascular surgeon.
Jean-Claude was faced with an unusually challenging procedure. This is a veteran with an aneurysm that is visible only through a CT scan. When she discussed two procedural options, she contacted Innovation Manager Bill Kortuella about printing 3D Visual Aid.
A model based on CT scans of the patient aorta was created by Corcuera. “If I had this early, I could have completed the patient's surgery five weeks ago and saved a VA (approximately) $20,000,” Jean-Claude said when the model was delivered.
The spread of words of new technology and utility of demand is steadily increasing.
Corcuera currently manages the 3D Medical Model and Visualizations Lab and has a team of four staff members with experience, including biomedical, mechanical, electrical engineering and design, and experienced diagnostic radiology technicians.
“As an OT, it's my job to help individuals overcome physical and social challenges,” said Lauryn Wasil, occupational therapist at Spinal Cord Injury Services. “3D Print Lab was an excellent resource for working together to develop unique items.”
Wasil received brief consultations with biomedical engineers Dylanbeckler and Zach Tumber at the 3D Printing Lab. “They really knew what they needed and helped create wheelchair button covers and expansion knob devices to make the most of veteran independence and community safety,” she said.
With glasses being one of the constantly demanding products from the lab, Corcuera brought in glasses/blind rehabilitation specialist Shawn Ruebel to launch this new service a few years ago. Wrubel is a dedicated next-generation lens edger that produces a stable flow of 80 pairs of glasses per week. Cost analysis showed that manufacturing glasses saves both time and money locally compared to orders from external vendors.
In March, the team saw the first peer-reviewed article published in 3D Printing in Medicine. The Cleveland team worked with local academic institutions to validate standardized quality assurance protocols developed at the Cleveland VA and utilized a very specific dimension with quantified tolerances. This is a step to standardizing a protocol that allows for the creation of the same model in multiple locations, ensuring that the model is accurately validated in dimensions.
“3D printing and emerging innovations are transforming VA Healthcare in Cleveland,” says Corcuera. “But as VA moves forward, health care for all patients across the country will benefit from it.”
View introductory videos about Vaneohs 3D printing.
