**6. A multidisciplinary approach: incorporating 3D models in an art installation in a clinical setting**

As part of the research activities of the Centre and of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, interactions with artist in residence Sofie Layton have resulted in an innovative and exciting use and display of 3D-printed models in the hospital/research setting. A multidisci‐ plinary collaboration was established with the artist, developing an arts-and-science approach for the study of some CHD features. In particular, the artist was developing 'Under the Microscope', a project supported by the Wellcome Trust to explore how patients and families process medical information and medical language. While also exploring rare disease, Sofie Layton immersed herself in the world of CHD by familiarising with CMR images, features of the anatomy of different defects, running workshops with CHD patients and their parents, developing a conversation with cardiologists and nurses, and also appreciating engineering methods that can play a role in this context, such as computational simulations and 3D-printed models. From an artist's perspective, 3D printing is a fascinating concept and the exploration of forms that the technology allowed specifically for CHD was the starting point of the collaboration. In the culmination of the project, Sofie Layton realised two installations (exhibited at the Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, February-April 2016). One of the installations revolves around CHD, including participatory work, a soundscape recounting the journey of a cardiac patient, panels that illustrate the language of CHD (i.e. anatomy, conditions, medications, treatments, narratives), as well as 3D-printed anatomical models (**Figure 11**).

developing PPI is linked to the fact that research stemming from a PPI framework is likely to be more ethical and more relevant for the patients. The area of 3D printing cardiovascular models can be conducive to developing PPI, by actively involving patients' representatives in the process of improving not only model features or prioritising their use but also the com‐ munication around CHD and in turn promote a PPI framework through a true conversation

**Figure 10.** Engagement activities with patients and families can be carried out by a multidisciplinary team exploring concepts such as making a 3D heart (left: patient with CHD making a 3D heart with Play Doh®). Developing a conver‐ sation with the public can in turn inform better usage of 3D models and technology for communication purposes.

As part of the research activities of the Centre and of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, interactions with artist in residence Sofie Layton have resulted in an innovative and exciting use and display of 3D-printed models in the hospital/research setting. A multidisci‐ plinary collaboration was established with the artist, developing an arts-and-science approach for the study of some CHD features. In particular, the artist was developing 'Under the Microscope', a project supported by the Wellcome Trust to explore how patients and families process medical information and medical language. While also exploring rare disease, Sofie Layton immersed herself in the world of CHD by familiarising with CMR images, features of the anatomy of different defects, running workshops with CHD patients and their parents, developing a conversation with cardiologists and nurses, and also appreciating engineering methods that can play a role in this context, such as computational simulations and 3D-printed models. From an artist's perspective, 3D printing is a fascinating concept and the exploration of forms that the technology allowed specifically for CHD was the starting point of the collaboration. In the culmination of the project, Sofie Layton realised two installations (exhibited at the Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children,

**6. A multidisciplinary approach: incorporating 3D models in an art**

with patients and their families (**Figure 10**).

134 New Trends in 3D Printing

Right image courtesy of Stephen King.

**installation in a clinical setting**

**Figure 11.** Examples of 3D models realised for Sofie Layton's 'Under the Microscope' art installation, including a nor‐ mal heart (left), a case of repaired TGA with ASO (centre), a case of repaired tetralogy of Fallot (right). Image courtesy of Stephen King.

In this context, models lend themselves to contribute to this site-specific installation by representing the variety of forms and arrangements that the cardiovascular anatomy can present, but the artist can take the process one step further. By exploring shapes and sizes, some unconventional models are included in the landscape (see **Figure 12**). A small bronze heart, suspended in a bell jar, is the result of scaling the 3D volume of a normal heart model, 3D printing a mould and casting a precious heart, sparking a reflection on the preciousness of the organ and of the stories and symbols associated with it. Similarly, another model, also 3D prototyped, has been virtually manipulated prior to printing so to resemble a Rubick's cube, which emerged from a conversation with a patient as a powerful image of the complexity of his heart following multiple repairs of CHD. The models are positioned on a sterile-looking stainless steel table in amongst the other artwork, essentially creating a dialogue between medical conditions and real-life stories. This collaboration is an example of how 3D printing technology allows for a stimulating exploration of possibilities of expression, which is facilitated and promoted by the continuous dialogue between the artist and the engineer, in a sense pushing the boundary of the technology for its medical use. The piece, indeed, has a clinical relevance, as well as relevance for the abovementioned concept of PPI/E. By creating this landscape (including sounds) in a medical/research setting rather than a neutral space, the installation echoes conversations and stories that have taken place within that dimension but enriches them by allowing for one final element to emerge: the human element. It is the artist who takes the responsibility of blending real-life stories in between anatomical models, technical jargon and heart outlines from CMR. This innovative approach presents yet one more use for 3D-printed models and for the possibility of expression offered by this technology.

**Figure 12.** Installation of 3D models under bell jars, as part of Sofie Layton's piece 'Under the Microscope'. While most models have a medical appearance, 3D technology is allowed to manipulate the data and scale it to create, for instance, a small bronze heart (right) which the artist chose to suspend in one of the bell jars. Image courtesy of Stephen King.
