US Army 3D Medical Application Center for veterans 3D printing custom assistive devices and prosthetics
Release date: 2017-11-08
In the military field, 3D printing has a new application, but this time it is not printing drones or weapons, but printing prostheses for soldiers who lost their limbs on the battlefield.
It is understood that medical engineers at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the United States are using additive manufacturing to develop customized prosthetic solutions for veterans. In fact, the center is even running a 3D Medical Application Center (3DMAC). There, a team of dedicated engineers and 3D printing technicians are developing custom equipment based on veterans' requirements.
The 3DMAC received a request from the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop custom-made auxiliary devices for veterans. If there are no existing parts or equipment on the market, the team will design and develop custom equipment by itself.
In one case, the team developed a special 3D print foot called "small feet" that can be mounted on a veteran's stump. The reason is that a veteran wants a prosthesis so that he can walk around the pool during the honeymoon without having to wear a full prosthetic leg. Faced with this requirement, the 3DMAC team first used plastic 3D to print a pair of feet that could be easily attached to the residual leg. After confirming the fit, the final version was printed in Titanium 3D.
This is just one of 3DMAC's many 3D printing projects. In addition to ancillary equipment, the center is also responsible for research and production of medical equipment such as surgical planning models, custom dental implants, skull plates, and more.
A project worth mentioning is to scan the soldier's face before entering the war. These 3D scan data will be compiled into a database. In the event of a misfortune, such as a soldier disfigured in an explosion or a facial injury, he or she can use his or her 3D scan data for facial reconstruction.
"What we need for our wounded warrior, we will create something," 3DMAC said.
(Compiled from 3ders.org)
Source: Tiangongshe
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