• Liam R Maclachlan, Hamish Alexander, David Forrestal, James I Novak, and Michael Redmond.
• Kenneth G Jamieson Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: liam.maclachlan@health.qld.gov.au.
• World Neurosurg. 2021 Dec 1; 156: 133146.e6133-146.e6.

BackgroundIntracranial surgery can be complex and high risk. Safety, ethical and financial factors make training in the area challenging. Head model 3-dimensional (3D) printing is a realistic training alternative to patient and traditional means of cadaver and animal model simulation.ObjectiveTo describe important factors relating to the 3D printing of human head models and how such models perform as simulators.MethodsSearches were performed in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science. Articles were screened independently by 3 reviewers using Covidence software. Data items were collected under 5 categories: study information; printers and processes; head model specifics; simulation and evaluations; and costs and production times.ResultsForty articles published over the last 10 years were included in the review. A range of printers, printing methods, and substrates were used to create head models and tissue types. Complexity of the models ranged from sections of single tissue type (e.g., bone) to high-fidelity integration of multiple tissue types. Some models incorporated disease (e.g., tumors and aneurysms) and artificial physiology (e.g., pulsatile circulation). Aneurysm clipping, bone drilling, craniotomy, endonasal surgery, and tumor resection were the most commonly practiced procedures. Evaluations completed by those using the models were generally favorable.ConclusionsThe findings of this review indicate that those who practice surgery and surgical techniques on 3D-printed head models deem them to be valuable assets in cranial surgery training. Understanding how surgical simulation on such models affects surgical performance and patient outcomes, and considering cost-effectiveness, are important future research endeavors.Crown Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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