Tulane alumna helps shape the face of modern surgery

Tulane University graduate Sadie Glick says the medical world is seeing human anatomy in a whole new way, literally.

In her work as a a biomedical engineer with 3D Systems in Denver, Colorado, Glick helps reconstructive surgeons by providing innovative medical imaging technology.

“Preoperatively, we can see anatomy in a way never seen before,” Glick, a 2014 Tulane graduate, said. “I work within our Virtual Surgical Planning department to plan out orthognathic surgeries. We are able to model the patient's anatomy in 3-D by going through the CT/ CBCT data slice by slice and ‘segmenting’ out relevant anatomical structures.”

Glick collaborates with surgeons all around the world and specializes in assisting in the planning of lower face and corrective jaw surgeries.

“Once a case is fully prepped, I then get online with a surgeon and, performing the same cuts that they would intra-operatively, move the anatomy to a more functional or aesthetically pleasing position, while analyzing how the movements of the jaws will affect the surrounding bony anatomy,” she said. “We then 3-D print guides and templates custom to the surgical plan onsite and ship them for use at the time of surgery.”

Glick said the guides help reduce surgery time and produce more predictable results.