Labs

3D Cardiac Visualization Laboratory

About the Lab

Congenital heart disease, the most common type of birth defect, is a three-dimensional (3D) structural problem. Conventional medical imaging is usually limited to two-dimensions (2D). In complex types of congenital heart disease, advanced technologies are required to understand the heart in 3D. At Children’s National Hospital, the 3D Cardiac Visualization Laboratory is the specialized group called in for these requests. We have the 3D software, 3D printers and personnel necessary to make a 3D model of the heart, using imaging datasets such as 3D echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These 3D models can be used to understand complex heart anatomies. 3D heart models can be used for medical training, surgical planning, patient communication or computational simulation.

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