In today’s article we want to talk about a concept that has gained our attention: the patient-specific model.
As you probably already know, personalised medicine is gaining ground. Data is becoming more and more important and technology is contributing to the useful results of their postprocessing.
This inevitably leads us to think of what is known as a specific or virtual patient model. But what are its implications for healthcare? And to what extent do we really implement it? We share our thoughts below.
Patient-specific model for surgical planning
Let’s start with the surgical area. It is true that there may be standards to help us in medical decision-making, but working with a real model will always give better results.
Let’s look at the example of an aortic aneurysm operation. How will the patient react to such a delicate operation? Data such as the diameter of the aneurysm, the thickness of the arterial wall and, in general, the strength of the patient’s tissue is crucial. Knowing this, we can estimate the risk of rupture and decide the best way to proceed accordingly.
Let us now turn to the orthopaedic sector: how to approach the implantation of a prosthesis? In fact, we can see this in Alma Medical Imaging and, in particular, on our Alma ORTHO advanced DICOM viewer. By using real medical images of the patient and a database of more than 10,000 digital templates for hip, shoulder and knee prostheses, it is possible to do a surgery planning to achieve better results.
In general, today’s technology even allows us to produce 3D models that we can use to foresee possible scenarios within the operation. This obviously leads to a reduction of risks.
Treatment planning
We have talked about surgery, but working with a patient-specific model is also useful for deciding on the treatment and evaluating its effects.
After all, every patient’s circumstances are different, and therefore the effect of a given medication may also vary. Based on real data, this leads to better decisions and, in many cases, the elimination of unnecessary risks.
Implications for industry
We have already discussed its implications for surgical and treatment planning, but what does it mean for industry?
By working with 3D models produced from medical images, manufacturers of prostheses and other implants can draw on knowledge they would not have without this data. Therefore, the result will be more tailored to the patient’s needs.
That said, all that remains is for you to discover our solutions so that working with a patient-specific model becomes your daily routine. Contact us and ask for a demonstration of any of our solutions.
