Preoperative planning and tracheal stent design in thoracic surgery: a primer for the 2017 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) hands-on course in 3D printing

In this work, we provide specific clinical examples to demonstrate basic practical techniques involved in image segmentation, computer-aided design, and 3D printing. A step-by-step approach using United States Food and Drug Administration cleared software is provided to enhance surgical intervention in a patient with a complex superior sulcus tumor. Furthermore, patient-specific device creation is demonstrated using dedicated computer-aided design software. Relevant anatomy for these tasks is obtained from CT Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine images, leading to the generation of 3D printable files and delivery of these files to a 3D printer. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s41205-017-0022-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.