Current and future role of three-dimensional modelling technology in rectal cancer surgery:A systematic review

BACKGROUND Three-dimensional(3D)modelling technology translates the patient-specific anatomical information derived from two-dimensional radiological images into virtual or physical 3D models,which more closely resemble the complex environment encountered during surgery.It has been successfully applied to surgical planning and navigation,as well as surgical training and patient education in several surgical specialties,but its uptake lags behind in colorectal surgery.Rectal cancer surgery poses specific challenges due to the complex anatomy of the pelvis,which is difficult to comprehend and visualise.AIM To review the current and emerging applications of the 3D models,both virtual and physical,in rectal cancer surgery。METHODS Medline/PubMed,Embase and Scopus databases were searched using the keywords“rectal surgery”,“colorectal surgery”,“three-dimensional”,“3D”,“modelling”,“3D printing”,“surgical planning”,“surgical navigation”,“surgical education”,“patient education”to identify the eligible full-text studies published in English between 2001 and 2020.Reference list from each article was manually reviewed to identify additional relevant papers.The conference abstracts,animal and cadaveric studies and studies describing 3D pelvimetry or radiotherapy planning were excluded.Data were extracted from the retrieved manuscripts and summarised in a descriptive way.The manuscript was prepared and revised in accordance with PRISMA 2009 checklist.RESULTS Sixteen studies,including 9 feasibility studies,were included in the systematic review.The studies were classified into four categories:feasibility of the use of 3D modelling technology in rectal cancer surgery,preoperative planning and intraoperative navigation,surgical education and surgical device design.Thirteen studies used virtual models,one 3D printed model and 2 both types of models.The construction of virtual and physical models depicting the normal pelvic anatomy and rectal cancer,was shown to be feasible.Within the clinical context,3D models were used to identify vascular anomalies,for surgical planning and navigation in lateral pelvic wall lymph node dissection and in management of recurrent rectal cancer.Both physical and virtual 3D models were found to be valuable in surgical education,with a preference for 3D printed models.The main limitations of the current technology identified in the studies were related to the restrictions of the segmentation process and the lack of 3D printing materials that could mimic the soft and deformable tissues.CONCLUSION 3D modelling technology has potential to be utilised in multiple aspects of rectal cancer surgery,however,it is still at the experimental stage of application in this setting.

A novel three-dimensional electric ophthalmotrope for improving the teaching of ocular movements

AIM: To develop a novel three-dimensional(3D) electric ophthalmotrope to improve the ophthalmology teaching effectiveness and evaluate the teaching value. METHODS: A 3D electric ophthalmotrope was designed by simulating the movement of the ocular and the extraocular muscles according to Sherrington’s law. The model with joint bearing was to ensure the flexibility and centripetal rotation of the simulated ball and stepper motor as the driving device. A programmable processor was used to control the motion amplitude of the stepper motor. The size of hole was set at the back of the simulated shell to limit the amount of eye movement. Afterwards, using a 5-point Likert scale, 7 experts evaluated the 3D electric ophthalmotrope’s simulation ability and precision, compared with the traditional anatomical model. In addition, the teaching effectiveness of the 3D electric ophthalmotrope was evaluated at in-class quiz and final exam in a randomized controlled trial. RESULTS: The 3D electric ophthalmotrope could be operated easily to demonstrate the eye movements with motion of different ocular muscles. The experts agreed that the 3D electric ophthalmotrope was different from the traditional model and was easier for students to understand every extraocular muscles’ movement in each evaluation index(P<0.05). Moreover, the results of teaching effectiveness showed that the 3D electric ophthalmotrope were significantly greater than the traditional model both at in-class quiz(P<0.01) and final exam(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: This novel 3D electric ophthalmotrope is better than the traditional model, which can be to improve the ophthalmology teaching effectiveness for students to understand the extraocular muscles’ movement.

Mental Health Education for Students from Junior Colleges Moving into Undergraduate Level in Private Colleges from the Perspective of Three- Dimensional Education

Good psychological quality is the basic requirement for college students in the new era.Students from junior colleges moving into xmdergraduate level in private colleges are a special group as they are already an important part of students in private colleges.Based on the mental health status of these students,private colleges have analyzed the issues of mental health education which include weak teaching staffs,lack attention,and traditional education methods.From the perspective of three-dimensional education,the psychological education work model in private colleges is explored to build an education team to promote the participation of all employees in the work of psychological education,strengthen the attention of college students who are moving into the undergraduate level,and to pay full attention to these students.Private colleges should try to innovate education methods and improve psychological education in all aspects.