3D printed ascending aortic simulators with physiological fidelity for surgical simulation

Introduction Three-dimensional (3D) printed multimaterial ascending aortic simulators were created to evaluate the ability of polyjet technology to replicate the distensibility of human aortic tissue when perfused at physiological pressures. Methods Simulators were developed by computer-aided design and 3D printed with a Connex3 Objet500 printer. Two geometries were compared (straight tube and idealised aortic aneurysm) with two different material variants (TangoPlus pure elastic and TangoPlus with VeroWhite embedded fibres). Under physiological pressure, β Stiffness Index was calculated comparing stiffness between our simulators and human ascending aortas. The simulators’ material properties were verified by tensile testing to measure the stiffness and energy loss of the printed geometries and composition. Results The simulators’ geometry had no effect on measured β Stiffness Index (p>0.05); however, β Stiffness Index increased significantly in both geometries with the addition of embedded fibres (p Conclusion We developed dynamic ultrasound-compatible aortic simulators capable of reproducing distensibility of real aortas under physiological pressures. Using 3D printed composites, we are able to tune the stiffness of our simulators which allows us to better represent the stiffness variation seen in human tissue. These models are a step towards achieving better simulator fidelity and have the potential to be effective tools for surgical training.