“They told us that a tracheostomy is what they normally do, but they also presented the splint as an option,” Ms. Altidor said. “They said she’d be the youngest person ever to have something like this put in and that it would have to get approved by the FDA. Her dad and I really wanted her to have the best quality of life, so as soon as they presented an alternative, we were happy to go with the alternative.”
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October 2024Collaborating to Create Custom Solutions
A diverse team of healthcare experts, scientists, and engineers worked together to create and implement a tailored solution for Justice. Emory University, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and the Georgia Institute of Technology frequently collaborate to solve important problems in pediatrics and develop technological solutions to improve children’s health, so the people are in place. Scott Hollister, PhD, the Patsy and Alan Dorris Chair of Pediatric Technology and professor of biomedical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, was recruited to Atlanta in 2017 because he’d previously pioneered the development of custom 3D-printed medical devices, including external airway splints, at the University of Michigan.
Drs. Maher and Goudy consulted with Dr. Hollister and other physicians, healthcare professionals, and engineers to devise a feasible plan of care for Justice. The evaluation and planning process included obtaining inspiratory and expiratory CT scans of Justice’s airway to precisely identify and measure areas of obstruction. Engineers and technicians then used that data to design and custom print splints made of polylactic acid (PLA), a bioabsorbable material. (Some children, Dr. Maher said, require multiple splints; others may need just one.)
Together, the team also worked to identify optimal surgical stitch placement, using computer modeling and computational fluid dynamics to virtually test the impact of assorted options.
“I’d give them ideas, and they’d do the computer modeling in the lab. They’d run the program all night and, in the morning, we’d meet and see where there’s airflow and where there would be restriction,” Dr. Goudy said. Technology allowed the team to engage in virtual surgical planning, which helped them minimize surgical time and increase the chances of a successful outcome.
Technology also aided family communication and informed consent. “We can 3D print models of the airway and the splints, so the families can hold them and put the splints on. We also show them some of the computation fluid dynamic modeling we use,” Dr. Goudy said.