The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) have announced they will be launching a new medical 3D printing clinical data registry in order to collect 3D printing data at the point of clinical care. The registry is expected to launch as a pilot program in autumn 2019 and is expected to bolster the advancement of clinical 3D printing.
The medical 3d printing data registry will be governed by a joint ACR-RSNA committee and will enable the partners to gather vital data to support the adoption and use of 3D printing in clinical settings.
“The creation of the joint RSNA-ACR 3D Printing Registry is essential for the advancement of clinical 3D printing,” explained William Weadock, M.D., professor of radiology at the University of Michigan and chair of the RSNA 3D Printing Special Interest Group (SIG). “The registry will allow us to collect data in support of the appropriate use of this technology and its value in clinical decision making, and this collaboration between RSNA and ACR shows the importance of 3D printing to radiology.”
The news of the 3D Printing Registry closely follows the release of four new Category III Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for 3D printed anatomical models and surgical guides. The data gathered through the registry will make it possible to demonstrate the clinical value of 3D printing, which has been difficult up until now due to the variety of technologies and physical models produced for clinical use.
“Medical models and surgical guides have been 3D printed for well over a decade, as niche applications—and without CPT codes,” said Frank Rybicki, M.D., Ph.D., FACR, chair of the ACR Committee on Appropriateness Criteria and founding chair of the RSNA SIG. “For example, craniomaxillofacial care providers generally accept that 3D printing is valuable and integral to patient care. However, when applying for CPT codes, it became clear that this ‘general acceptance’ lacked peer-reviewed literature to demonstrate value. This registry will supply data to benchmark the value of this subspecialty.”
The registry will be hosted by the ACR’s National Radiology Data Registry (NRDR) system, a leading system for clinical quality registries in imaging. Currently, the platform consists of six registries with over 6,500 participant sites and over 150 million cumulative cases. Leveraging the existing infrastructure to set up a 3D printing registry for medical models will contribute in depth and important insights into the technology and its clinical applications.
“The RSNA 3D Printing SIG has brought together leaders from radiology practice and from the 3D printing industry to advance the science and applications of this important new technology,” added Charles Kahn, M.D., M.S., chair of the RSNA Radiology Informatics Committee. “The registry will help us understand the value that 3D printing can bring to clinical practice.”
The 3D printing registry project is being supported by a number of AM industry players, including Formlabs, HP, Materialise and Stratasys.
