About Us
Why Specialize in AAA Models?
Common
Every year, more than 200,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with an AAA.
Critical
A ruptured AAA is the 15th leading cause of death in the country, and the 10th leading cause of death in men older than 55.
Complex
Although EVAR is an effective procedure, approximately 15% of AAA cases are not eligible for the procedure due to anatomical complexity.
Daniel Eckstein
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, B.S., E.I.T.
Biomedical Engineering, M.S., Specialising in Biomaterials
Eckstein Biomedical was born from the marriage of my graduate training, personal hobbies, and academic research. All applied in unison to fill an unmet need in the medical landscape. While working on a capstone project I was paired with a cardiovascular surgeon. Throughout the scope of this project, I learned about the difficulties that surgeons faced during the endoscopic repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). These problems were rattling around in my mind even after the project came to a close. During my thesis research, I was exposed to the medical applications of 3D printing, and specifically the use of presurgical guides during planning for maxillofacial surgeries. Complex and difficult to visualize anatomy could be brought to life, manipulated, and examined by the surgeon. This seemed like something which could be applied to the treatment of AAAs, specifically in cases of high anatomical complexity, the kinds of cases that get turned down for endoscopic repairs. In order to apply this strategy to AAAs, there were a number of hurdles to overcome. First, most applications of 3D printing use hard tissue, like bone. This is because the high attenuation makes them easy to segment and transform into 3D models. However, the aorta is a complex soft tissue structure, meaning it requires specific imaging modalities and specialized skills in segmentation. Second, the size of the structure needed to print easily exceeds consumer-grade 3D printer capacities, and with industrial printers costing multiples of consumer models, they were not an option. Third, the model is a hollow structure that needs high fidelity on the interior walls, not an easy feat when normal printing methodologies would require thorough supports for the interior space. Finally, the finished product must be optically clear so that surgeons can see what is happening as they plan the procedure, this requires specialized processing and is impossible through traditional finishing means due to the complex geometry of the aortic surface. One by one these issues were overcome through the application of years of hobby 3D printing experience, direct development efforts, and biomedical understanding.