Thanks to the funding obtained by Regione Lombardia within the Programma Operativo Regionale 2014-2020 (co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund), the MTM team started the work steps for the development of the Medical Development Innovation – MDI project, under the call for proposals AGEVOLAZIONI LOMBARDE PER LA VALORIZZAZIONE DEGLI INVESTIMENTI AZIENDA “AL VIA.”
The project aims to create 3D medical mockups from 2D images and through the use of 3D printing and VR technologies.
PURPOSE
Through the use of 3D printing and Virtual Reality technologies, MTM aimed to develop the activities of creating 3D medical mockups from 2D diagnostic images. In particular, the goal was to improve the algorithm and software for capturing and converting “cardiac images” currently arriving from partner hospitals.
In addition, thanks to the laboratory dedicated to the study of materials and printing techniques, MTM set out again to implement research into innovative polymers made specifically for the project. Specifically, with the help of virtual reality processing techniques, the Project Team selected 3D images in order to then assemble new mockups based on the specific requests that are commissioned from time to time by hospitals and medical schools.
Medical Development Innovation (MDI)
Recipient: MTM S.r.l.
Initiative implemented under Priority Axis III – Promoting small and medium enterprises’ competitiveness
Goal: Investment in growth and employment
Action – Investment aid for machinery, plants and intangible assets, and support for company reorganisation and restructuring processes
Project Description: Research and development of innovative resin materials for the creation – from 2D diagnostic images provided by project partner hospitals – of 3D medical mockups of the heart, simulating its actual size and physical properties.
RESULTS
In the realisation of this project, the team focused on two fundamental aspects:
- The identification of the most suitable materials to accurately reproduce organs in 3D format;
2. The development of an algorithm for capturing 2D images, which were then volumetrically converted.
About the first point, the MTM team directed its research towards the study of new materials of plant origin, endowed with a degree of elasticity and resistance such as to make it possible to engineer the vascularization process of cardiac-type models.
While on the second issue, the MTM research team – together with Università della Svizzera Italiana, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche and Politecnico di Milano – has directed its work towards the deliberation of a standardized protocol for the conversion of 2D images into 3D.
The 3D image processing protocol was designed using a cloud platform aimed at facilitating the exchange and dissemination of information relevant to the medical field. Precisely for its educational and scholastic purposes, the platform was indeed equipped with resilient graphics servers with powerful technical hardware features that, through the use of VR and mixed reality technologies, are able to guarantee users a high degree of engagement and better utilization of content.
Main Partners
The Medical Development Innovation – MDI project is implemented with the help of resources from the European Union, the Italian state and Regione Lombardia.
REALIZED WITH THE SUPPORT OF