Almost every aspect of industry, from automotive to fashion, is being revolutionised by 3D printing. Now additive manufacturing, as it’s also known, which involves creating three dimensional solid objects from a digital file by laying down successive layers of a material such as plastic or metal, is disrupting the prosthetics and orthotics (P&O) business.
A growing number of P&O manufacturers are using this fast-evolving technology to create prosthetics more efficiently, accurately and cost effectively for their clients’ patients than ever before. At the forefront of 3D printing for P&O is HP with its HP Multi Jet Fusion technology.
“The manufacturing of P&O devices hasn’t changed much in the past decade,” says Anne Sharp, UK and Ireland 3D marketing manager at HP Inc. “Patients often report discomfort when they wear devices and few of them find that they fit the first time. As a result, they have to make multiple visits to clinicians to have them modified.
“Increasing productivity and consistent quality in P&O manufacturing are key to solving the problem of capacity constraints in the industry and to improving quality of life for patients.”
By increasing automation and product quality so devices are considerably more likely to fit first time, without the need for adjustments, manufacturers that adopt 3D technology are freeing up the schedules of clinicians. This means healthcare professionals can spend more time seeing patients rather than building and conducting refittings of molds that are manufactured according to traditional processes.
“The clinicians I speak to really appreciate how 3D printing is making the manufacturing process faster, simpler and more accurate,” says Ms Sharp. “They start with a 3D scan of the relevant part of the body. This produces a digital image that they can send to the central fabrication company or use to create a model themselves. Either way, the scan is imported into specialist P&O computer-aided design (CAD) software, which allows them to make changes as they would with a physical mold.
“Once the design is ready, it can be sent to the 3D-printing queue with a batch of other parts to be printed together. For example, an HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printer can produce about 60 pairs of insoles or multiple adult ankle foot orthotics in about 16 hours, without any human supervision.”
3D printing has the power to transform prosthetics and orthotics into a consumer goods industry without incurring additional costs
Instead of disparate paper records and a plethora of different measuring and production methods, 3D-printing processes allow for high repeatability and centralised knowledge through the use of electronic records of patient and part specifications. Using technology such as the HP Multi Jet Fusion results in consistent, industrial-grade quality parts.
“3D-printing adoption is not only about creating a more efficient workflow, but it also offers the opportunity for clinicians and others to rethink how P&O products function, perform and look,” says Ms Sharp.
As well as speed and accuracy, there are other benefits, she points out. Variable-thickness walls generated by 3D printing mean designers and manufacturers can control the stiffness and strength in every part of the device. This results in much lighter devices with greater stiffness in areas where extra support is required and more flexibility in other sections. The result is improved comfort for the patient. In many cases, 3D printing can produce devices that are slimmer than their thermoplastic or carbon fibre counterparts.
Specific 3D-printing design features with lattices and meshes can modify the performance and material properties of a part by increasing stiffness, reducing weight and enhancing breathability. Helmets developed by Invent Medical are a great example of this capability.
Alongside this, with 3D printing, parts and mechanisms can be printed simultaneously by interlocking moving components and consolidating complex shapes. Part consolidation typically reduces weight, decreases the amount of assembly work and rework needed, and eliminates dependency on several suppliers. Additionally, 3D printing allows clinicians and manufacturers to brand their products.
“3D printing has the power to transform prosthetics and orthotics into a consumer goods industry without incurring additional costs,” says Ms Sharp. “By applying additive manufacturing principles, the design process and performance of P&O devices can be greatly improved in all kinds of ways, as can the lives of hundreds of millions of patients.”
For more information please visit hp.com/go/3DPrint, or contact us by email 3d-UKI@hp.com or phone 0207 660 3532.
3D printing allows the creation of products that we’ve not been able to manufacture previously
Crispin Orthotics provides orthotics solutions and products for the National Health Service as well as to private patients in the UK and across Europe. With HP Multi Jet Fusion technology the company experimented with complex geometries to produce more effective and more modern-looking devices for patients, such as their ankle foot orthosis.
Manufacturing products with the HP Multi Jet Fusion involves half the cost of using traditional carbon fibre.
“The industry for orthotics tends to be quite traditional in manufacturing,” says Mark Thaxter, managing director of Crispin Orthotics. “3D printing allows the creation of products that we’ve not been able to manufacture previously.”
Higher-performance orthotic devices that are lighter, more flexible and more comfortable
Invent Medical upgraded from manufacturing using traditional processes to HP Multi Jet Fusion technology to produce custom-made orthotics. Clinicians can take 3D scans of a body part and upload them to Invent Medical’s website where they can choose and customise the final product to be 3D printed.
“With HP Multi Jet Fusion we are able to design and directly print out the final product,” says Invent Medical chief designer Ales Grygar. “This allows us to deliver higher-performance orthotic devices that are lighter, more flexible and more comfortable.”
HP Multi Jet Fusion technology has helped foster a relationship among patient, caregiver and medical device manufacturer, and has allowed Invent Medical to scale its model on a global level.
