3D Printed Custom Splints

Read more: http://3dprintingindustry.com/2014/07/03/3d-printed-custom-splints-ease-pain-arthritis/

Video transcript: For the many sufferers of Rheumatoid arthritis, a new type of 3D printed splint has been designed that is intended to provide far greater support than ever before. The design and manufacturing process empowers clinicians with no experience in computer-aided design to provide custom-made wrist splints.

Dr. Abby Paterson, from the Design School at Loughborough University has designed the software for the customised production of 3D printed splints, which hold the potential to be much more comfortable, also more attractive, and with lower costs than existing solutions.

Dr. Paterson explained that thanks to the capabilities of Objet Connex 3D printers, it is possible to integrate multiple materials in a single splint such as rubber-like integral hinges or cushioning features.

The splints are made by scanning a patient’s arm in the appropriate position, getting precise dimensions that will be be customised and therefore provide the most comfortable fit for the individual. Then the splint is 3D printed. The precise, complex geometries form a lattice design that aids ventilation for the patient’s arm, and can be used with any type of fastening that the patient requires for ease of use.

Doctors Bibb and Paterson from Loughborough University are currently now performing a thorough cost analysis of service provision for the custom splints, with estimates that the 3D printed splints should be more cost-efficient than equivalents produced by traditional means of manufacturing. The doctors project that with financial backing they could perfect the software to begin empowering clinicians to customise these splints within just eighteen months.

With arthritis affecting millions across the globe, and taking a major toll on productivity year in and year out, these customized splints could be a welcome relief.