3D printed enucleated eye holder for research and surgical training

Abstract

AbstractPurpose: The aim of this study is to provide an affordable eye holder to secure enucleated eyes for the purposes of ophthalmology surgical training or research. Whilst mannequin heads are an excellent tool for surgical training, a surgical microscope is pre‐requisite to accommodate this. Table top microscopes are widely available and commonly used for both research and surgical training, however, there are a limited number of available products to secure the eye reliably in this setting. We present a 3D‐printed enucleated eye cup holder that can be mass produced as a low‐cost training tool.Methods: Using Solidworks, we designed a 3D printable modular device that consists of three pieces forming an eye cup holder. The main cup has 8 symmetric round holes to secure the eye in the horizontal and vertical planes either on recti muscles, their insertions, conjunctiva or episclera using sutures. This provides a customizable level of stability to allow precise surgery that can be made more repeatable for research purposes and surgical training. Two support pillars mount the main cup on an optical board which is placed under the microscope. The main cup can be reprinted for replacement conveniently and can be customised to adapt to different microscope dimensions and different cadaveric eyes.Results: This system has been tested on cadaveric porcine and human eyes in both training and research environments. During the operation, the main cup is placed on the base of the microscope and mounted on the optical board underneath by support pillars. The whole system is fixed on optical board to achieve better stability as well as adaptability to different microscopes. Other equipment can be added on the optical board for further tests. The eyes are sutured securely on the holder and the position is adjustable. Ophthalmologists and trainees were able to practice appropriately on the system. This system was affordable at a cost of approximately €24 to print.Conclusions: Herein, we present a 3D‐printed enucleated eye cup holder that can be secured to the base of a microscope using an optical board. The adjustable positioning of the eye via suturing provides a convenient surgical training and research experience. The holder is released as an open‐source computer‐aided design file with customizable dimensions for interested trainees and researchers.image