Purpose

Today, ultrasound-guided peripheral endovascular interventions have the potential to be an alternative to conventional interventions that are still X-ray and contrast agent based. For the further development of this approach, a research environment is needed that represents the individual patient-specific endovascular properties as realistically as possible.

Aim of the project was the construction of a phantom that combines ultrasound capabilities and the possibility to simulate peripheral endovascular interventions.

Material and Methods

We designed a modular ultrasound-capable phantom with exchangeable patient specific vascular anatomy. For the manufacturing of the vascular pathologies, we used 3D printing technology. Subsequently, we evaluated the constructed simulator with regards to its application for endovascular development projects.

Results

We developed an ultrasound-capable phantom with an exchangeable 3D-printed segment of the femoral artery. This modality allows the study of several patient-specific 3D-printed pathologies. Compared to the flow properties of a human artery (male; age 28) the phantom shows realistic flow properties in the duplex ultrasound image. We proved the feasibility of the simulator by performing an ultrasound-guided endovascular procedure. Overall, the simulator showed realistic intervention conditions.

Conclusions

With the help of the constructed simulator, new endovascular procedures and navigation systems, such as ultrasound-guided peripheral vascular interventions, can be further developed. Additionally, in our opinion, the use of such simulators can also reduce the need for animal experiments.

中文翻译：

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具有患者专用3D打印的血管解剖结构的超声幻象的开发，可模拟外周血管内干预。

目的

如今，超声引导的外周血管内介入术有可能替代仍以X射线和造影剂为基础的常规介入治疗。为了进一步发展这种方法，需要一个研究环境，该研究环境应尽可能现实地代表各个患者的特定血管内特性。

该项目的目的是构建一种结合了超声功能和模拟外周血管内介入的可能性的体模。

材料与方法

我们设计了具有超声功能的模块化体模，可互换患者特定的血管解剖结构。为了制造血管病变，我们使用了3D打印技术。随后，我们就其在血管内发育项目中的应用进行了评估。

结果

我们开发了一种具有超声功能的幻影，其股动脉可互换地进行了3D打印。这种方式可以研究几种特定于患者的3D打印病理。与人动脉（雄性； 28岁）的流动特性相比，幻影在双工超声图像中显示出真实的流动特性。我们通过执行超声引导的血管内手术程序证明了模拟器的可行性。总体而言，模拟器显示了现实的干预条件。

结论

借助所构建的模拟器，可以进一步开发新的血管内程序和导航系统，例如超声引导的外周血管干预。另外，我们认为，使用此类模拟器还可以减少对动物实验的需求。