Advanced Medical Use of Three-Dimensional Imaging in Congenital Heart Disease: Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Virtual Reality, and Three-Dimensional Printing

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) imaging and image reconstruction play a prominent role in the diagnosis, treatment planning, and post-therapeutic monitoring of patients with congenital heart disease. More interactive and realistic medical experiences take advantage of advanced visualization techniques like augmented, mixed, and virtual reality. Further, 3D printing is now used in medicine. All these technologies improve the understanding of the complex morphologies of congenital heart disease. In this review article, we describe the technical advantages and disadvantages of various advanced visualization techniques and their medical applications in the field of congenital heart disease. In addition, unresolved issues and future perspectives of these evolving techniques are described.

Keywords: 3D imaging; 3D modeling; 3D printing; Augmented reality; Congenital heart disease; Virtual reality.