The group from New York obtained the data from nearly 100 prostate cancer patients who underwent robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy. During preoperative planning, the surgical team relied on one of three different methods for visualization: AR models plus MRI, 3D-printed prostate models plus MRI, or MRI alone.
After examining the data, the researchers found that presurgical planning with the 3D-printed models led to shorter operating times, less blood loss, and fewer positive surgical margins, compared with MRI alone. Presurgical planning with AR also resulted in less blood loss than MRI but slightly longer operating times and more positive surgical margins. These differences did not reach statistical significance.
"3D-printed prostate cancer models resulted in superior surgical outcomes and decreased operating times as compared to both conventional imaging and augmented reality," presenter Nicole Wake, PhD, of Montefiore Medical Center told AuntMinnie.com. "As technologies continue to improve, we expect that AR or other technologies such as virtual reality might gain equivalence or even become superior to 3D printing."
Augmented reality and 3D-printed prostate cancer models may improve visualization for surgeons planning procedures, with the potential to improve patient outcomes and decrease costs, Wake and colleagues concluded.
