Rapid prototyping is a technique used for obtaining prototypes from three dimensional digital data, and has as its principle adding material in flat layers, making this manufacture also known as additive manufacturing or manufacturing by layer.

When applied to the medical field, assists cardiologists in the diagnosis, surgical planning and educationally, from images obtained by computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The images obtained are transformed into DICOM files to improve the segmentation technique.

Using the software Mimics or InVesalius, will be done the separation of the morphological structures of the heart (blood and muscles) according to each case. After generating the molds in 3D software, the additive manufacturing technique will be applied, and subsequently, the biomodels generated by this technique are going to be observed to analyze its effective based in the application of clinical practice. To validate the study of each case, physicians (surgeons and cardiologists) will be interviewed and indicate the relevance of using this technology in cardiology, such as support to adequately treat the patient.

Among the cases studied at the Institute Dante Pazzanese of Cardiology (IDPC), there is a patient with a congenital heart defect called transposition of the great arteries (TGA), which causes the connection between the aorta and the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery to the left ventricle, the opposite of the normal heart’s anatomy. It is imperative that surgery called switch operation or Jatene’s operation (developed by the brazilian cardiologist Dr. Adib Domingos Jatene) is held in the neonate, so the irregular heartbeat is detected.

The biomodel generated through this technique will be delivered to the physician in charge of the case (Dr. Adib Domingos Jatene), to analyze other anomalies, such as other dilated vessels that have become visible.