The production of two anatomically accurate models of the human heart was made possible by the technologically unique 3D printer Stratasys J750. The model, to which a pacemaker can also be connected, will be used to assist in education at the Faculty of Health Studies TUL (FZS).
The two models were created using the Stratasys J750 device at the Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation (CxI). This 3D printer is the only one in the world that can produce full-color multimaterial prototypes in one print job. The printer is able to mix up to six materials at once and thus produce up to half a million colors. The model is created using polyjet technology, which mixes individual photopolymer materials and creates the pigment we need. This way the heart can look like a real one. It takes 38 hours to print one model and a 2.5 kilograms of support material, which must then be removed with high water pressure and dissolved in sodium hydroxide.
While one heart is translucent, the other is a real color. Students can therefore learn how to accurately insert pacemaker electrodes into the heart. The development and production of such unique teaching aid was possible due to a close cooperation with the cardiovascular center of the Liberec Regional Hospital.
