Pipeline of anatomical models generation. Experience of surgical planning and medical personal training by means of virtual environments and physical prototyping

In medical practice, immersive experiences are rapidly expanding.The generation of 3D models depicting anatomical structures with medical relevance is necessary. Applying extended reality (XR) technologies, this work presents a pipeline to generate 3D content suitable to be used in a virtual environment or printed as a physical prototype, as an aid to the treatment of patients with complex congenital heart and tracheal diseases. We strive to provide a valuable tool to improve different aspects involved in the treatment of complicated medical cases, particularly, people training and surgical planning. The paper presents an example, a real medical case, that illustrates the process. Keywords: Virtual reality, 3D model, 3D printing, medical images, surgical planning