Using 3D printing in radiology saves an estimated 41 minutes or $2,500 per case, according to new data published August 6 in Journal of the American College of Radiology (1).
Clinical 3D printing has gained significant traction in recent years and is used in numerous applications. However, systematic data on how the technology is used in practice is lacking – information that could be used for benchmarking and practice improvement.
With that in mind, ACR and the Radiological Society of North America launched a registry in June 2020 aimed at collecting standardized data on 3D printing in healthcare facilities. Researchers took a closer look at that information and published their findings on Tuesday.
“Clinical 3D printing is being used in healthcare settings for patients of all ages and for a wide range of clinical indications,” concluded lead author Kenneth C. Wang, MD, PhD, of the Department of Radiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and colleagues. “Registry data provide insight into the technologies and workflows used to create anatomical models and guides, and clinical users report benefits of 3D printing, including increased confidence and reduced procedure times.”
The data spanned the three years to June 2023 and covered 20 care facilities and over 2,600 cases. Patient models were most commonly used in cardiac care, while 3D guidance was used primarily in neurological cases (42%). CT was used in about 88% of cases, while MRI was used in 22% (multiple imaging modalities may be used for a given case). Among the 11 organ systems reported, neurological, cardiac, musculoskeletal, thoracic and genitourinary systems were the most common, accounting for 93% of all cases.
In terms of time, radiologists and other healthcare providers spent approximately 34 minutes on consultations, 32 minutes on segmentation, 21 minutes on computer-aided design, and 6 minutes on preparation/post-processing. The average total time spent per 3D printing case was 92.4 minutes for providers and 335 minutes for other non-providers (e.g., technicians, engineers, and scientists). These times represent an estimated cost of approximately $339 for providers and $267 for other care team members, or a total average of nearly $606 per case.
Not all 3D printing cases were performed in preparation for surgery, the authors noted. However, for the small subset that reported this data (about 155 cases), Wang et al. estimated that 3D printing saved providers an average of nearly 41 minutes, saving about $2,511 in operating room costs (at an estimated OR cost of $62 per minute). That exceeds the $606 in personnel costs by four times, the authors noted.
“The savings estimate also has several important limitations,” the authors cautioned. “First, this estimate is based on time savings reported in 5.9% of cases in the study. Not all 3D printing cases are performed in preparation for a surgical procedure, and this savings estimate cannot be generalized to all 3D printing cases. Second, it is likely that some cases where no time savings were reported were nevertheless used in preparation for a surgical procedure, and the estimate does not include those cases. Third, the reported time savings were subjective estimates by users based on their clinical experience and unmeasured procedure times. Fourth, operating room costs vary considerably across facilities. In addition, some of the estimates obtained may relate to nonsurgical procedures, such as procedures performed in a cardiac catheterization laboratory rather than an operating room, and these other procedure rooms have different cost structures. However, despite these limitations, the cost savings estimate presented here is consistent with other reported estimates.”
Read more in JAC under the following link.
