Personalized 3D Virtual and Printed Model Versus Conventional Images for the Education of the Treatment Planning in Intracranial Aneurysm Surgeries.

Patient understanding of their medical condition and treatment satisfaction has gained increasing attention in medicine. As for neurosurgical conditions however, the treatment plan is often difficult for patients to comprehend, with many of them having an inaccurate understanding of the involved anatomy.

Novel technologies therefore may play a role in facilitating patient education. In particular, conventional 2D images makes it sometimes difficult for surgeons to inform their patients about the planned intervention and potential complications. This is why new modalities have been developed for patient information and may have further an impact on resident education to better estimate the treatment plan and potential complication. For the latter, given that intracranial aneurysms (lAs) are increasingly treated via endovascular methods, training opportunities are reduced and understanding of the vascular anatomy can become difficult.

The objective of this study is to explore the advantages of conventional, virtual reality and 3D stereolithographic models for patient and resident education in the treatment of lAs.