3D Printing in Medicine at RSNA 2022

Author: Andy Christensen

3D printing in medicine is the intersection of multiple medical and non-medical specialties including radiologists, radiological technologists, engineers, physicists and surgeons/ interventionalists. Medical 3D printing has shown benefit and improved outcomes in the management of craniomaxillofacial, cardiac and musculoskeletal pathologies, among others. This year's RSNA 2022 Annual Meeting in Chicago will contain a dedicated 3D Printing Symposium, put on by RSNA and RSNA's 3D Printing Special Interest Group. The Symposium will take place Thursday, December 1^st from 12-4pm at McCormick Place.

The 3D Printing Symposium will complement courses on 3D printing already planned for the RSNA Annual Meeting. Whereas those courses are designed for a broad, clinical audience, this Symposium will focus on more advanced, in-depth treatment of topics such as imaging protocol optimization, quality management systems, specialty-specific surgical planning applications, and biocompatible materials. The Symposium is designed to appeal both to SIG members as well as other RSNA attendees interested in learning more about the techniques, applications and trends in 3D printing.

Good manufacturing practices and quality management systems have been a hot topic in the hospital-based 3D printing world of late. These controls will be more and more popular going forward and there is a lot to learn. During the symposium, we’ll hear from speakers on the general topic of setting up these systems and also advanced topics such as verification versus validation and evaluating risk. 

Another of the Symposium’s focus areas will be on surgical planning and templating for pathologies in the craniomaxillofacial and breast areas. It’s a natural extension for hospitals who start with creation of anatomic models to move into providing surgical planning services and designing related anatomic guides and templates. Expert speakers will guide us through surgical planning and surgical guide creation for craniomaxillofacial and breast applications.

Reimbursement is a major focus for the RSNA 3D Printing Special Interest Group and also the broader medical 3D printing community. We’ll close out the Symposium with topics focused on building and maintaining sustainability for medical 3D printing.  Discussions on CPT coding and real-world application of the Category III CPT codes will be featured.  We’ll hear more about the strategy ahead toward more permanent nomenclature for 3D printed parts and the related topics of value and reimbursement.

We hope you’ll consider joining us on December 1^st for the 3D Printing Symposium. Registration is complimentary and open to all attendees registered for RSNA’s Annual Meeting. More information can be found here.

Andy Christensen has spent his entire career from the 1990’s until now focused on expanding the medical applications of 3D printing. Today, he holds an Adjunct Faculty position in the Department of Radiology at the University of Cincinnati and also serves as 2022 Chair for RSNA’s 3D Printing Special Interest Group.