3D print material study to reproduce the function of pig heart tissue

BACKGROUND: Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology for heart simulation can be represented as complex anatomical structures, and objective information can be provided. OBJECTIVE: We studied 3D print material to find a material with the same elastic coefficient as pig elastic coefficient. METHODS: Pig heart sample, Agilus sample, Tango sample, TPU sample, and silicone sample were studied. The elastic coefficient of each specimen was measured using an elastic coefficient measuring instrument. The analysis was performed using the average value of ten specimens of the same size. We suggested an equation to find the elastic coefficient of material by the thickness using the elastic coefficient of Agilus, Tango, and silicone. RESULTS: The sample with similar elasticity to the pig sample did not show the same coefficient of elasticity at the same sample size. In Tango, the 0.5 mm high elastic force was about 3 times higher than the pig sample 7 mm elastic force. CONCLUSIONS: The study was conducted using 3D print material and silicone which can reproduce the elasticity of pig heart. However, no material is currently available to reproduce pig heart sample of the same size. However, if the heart is developed considering only elasticity, it can be sufficiently reproduced using the research results.