Taking Personalized Medicine to the Next Level
Patients navigate many obstacles when they go through a cancer journey. For some, that may include surgery to remove or alter a body part. For example, head and neck tumor removals can leave a patient facing a new way of life. Prosthetics can be used to manage the side effects of these procedures and restore a patient’s appearance and confidence.
Vladimir Frias, MD, a maxillofacial prosthodontist who specializes in craniofacial implant surgery at Roswell Park, remembers when creating a prosthetic for a patient was a manual process that started with the creation of a physical impression for a patient. Fitting the impression could often be uncomfortable or even painful, especially post-surgery when the area was healing. Over the last six-and-a-half years, however, Dr. Frias says he has seen that process change dramatically. Today, wearable prosthesis can be 3-D printed from models based off patient’s CT scans, thanks to donations from the community, resulting in a faster, more precise prosthetics — not to mention less time and soreness for the patient.
“We’re only a small piece of the entire puzzle. Patients have been through so much just to get to the reconstructive phase. They’ve been through surgical procedures, radiation, chemotherapy, partial reconstruction and more. It’s a very tiring process, and it’s emotionally draining for a patient. They want to get their facial parts back as soon as possible. And they don’t want to finish all their treatment and find out it’s another three months for us to do this physically. Now, we can actually do it within a month since we have the digital means to do it.”
Vladimir Frias, DDS, MS, FACP, Director, Maxillofacial Prosthetics
Prosthetics are just one of the many areas enhanced by the 3-D imaging lab at Roswell Park. Spearheaded by Larson Hsu, MD, Director of 3-D Imaging in the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, this cutting-edge work takes personalized medicine to the next level and opens the door to endless possibilities for cancer care.
Roswell Park is one of the first labs in the state to have in-house 3-D printing — and it’s all thanks to the generous support of donors like you.
When Dr. Hsu started at Roswell Park 11 years ago, there was no designated 3-D imaging lab. In 2020, the lab was officially established with help of donor dollars. Since then, the lab has grown into a specialized services department, offering 3-D printed anatomical models to guide surgeons before an operation.
“I think a lot of people still don’t know how many things we can do in our lab thanks to the funding and equipment we’ve gotten from the Alliance Foundation. If doctors have innovative ideas, they come to us, and they’ll be really surprised what we can actually do,” Dr. Hsu says. “To me, that’s personalized medicine. It’s not like using a generic, one-size-fits-all device. You’re creating something that will actually troubleshoot a specific problem for a specific patient.”
Dr. Hsu’s lab creates 3-D printed models based off CT scans using FDA-approved 3D software (funded by the Alliance Foundation). These 3-D models are simply print-offs of organs, but rather color-coded, delineating major blood vessels and vital organs from tumors. This allows physicians to have a true-to-life guide heading into major procedures, allowing them to really visualize the area before operating. Before, this was done with a two-dimensional scan.
“CT scans show anatomy in cross-sections, requiring clinicians to mentally reconstruct a three-dimensional picture,” Dr. Hsu says. “A physical model allows surgeons to actually hold and examine the anatomy in three dimensions before operating.”
In one example, Dr. Hsu recalls a thoracic surgery case where a patient’s tumor was intertwined with the vasculature (network of blood vessels). The surgeon had originally planned to go into the procedure through the patient’s neck, but upon seeing this, he changed his approach and went in through the sternum instead. The 3-D rendering changed the care the patient received.
“We’re at the forefront of this cutting-edge work, but it’s not payable by larger funding right now. So the only thing that keeps it going is the funding from donors. None of this would be possible without that funding.”
Larson Hsu, MD, Director of 3-D Imaging in the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology
"As we begin this next chapter, I am excited to welcome Shawn Kleitz to our team. Shawn's experience, passion for philanthropy and commitment to advancing cancer research make him the ideal person to build upon Cindy's remarkable legacy and lead the Alliance Foundation into the future."