Case Study: The Hospital for Sick Children achieves realistic, effective pediatric heart surgery training with Stratasys advanced 3D‑printed medical models

Stratasys' Advanced Medical Models Enhance Training on Rare Pediatric Heart Surgeries

The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) faced a training gap for rare, complex pediatric heart surgeries: cadaver and animal practice lacked realistic pathology, repeatability and haptic feedback, and early 3D prints were limited to hard materials. To close that gap, SickKids partnered with Stratasys, using Stratasys advanced medical 3D‑printed heart models and a new flexible material to create more realistic surgical simulators.

Stratasys worked directly with SickKids to develop and print anatomically accurate, flexible pediatric heart models in‑house, delivering true tissue feel and improved surgical rehearsal. Surgeons said the models were “almost like the real thing” and trainees found them “tremendously helpful”; this hands‑on practice contributed to better preparedness and helped SickKids achieve patient mortality for complex procedures (such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome) that is significantly lower than average.

The Hospital for Sick Children

Shi-Joon Yoo

Head, Pediatric Cardiac Imaging