Custom Splint Moulding from 3D Body Scans for Indirect Fitting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing custom medical splints or braces are limited by high manufacturing costs, robustness issues, and the inability to immobilize regions with fractures, cutaneous lesions, or in patients with neurologic pathologies that prevent direct moulding, such as those with Parkinson's disease.
Innovation Solution
A method involving three-dimensional scanning to create a digital model of the patient's body part, followed by production of a three-dimensional mould, and subsequent moulding of thermoformable material onto this mould to create a custom splint or brace, allowing for precise fitting without requiring the patient's presence during the moulding process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If direct moulding is performed onto the patient's body part, then the splint achieves precise anatomical fit, but the patient must remain still and available during the entire moulding process which is problematic for patients with neurologic pathologies or wounds
Solution Approach 1:
A three-dimensional mould of the patient's body part is produced in advance before the actual splint manufacturing. This preliminary mould captures the anatomical geometry, allowing the splint to be manufactured later without requiring the patient's presence or stillness during the manufacturing process, while still achieving precise anatomical fit.
Solution Approach 2:
The three-dimensional mould serves as an intermediary object between the patient's body part and the final splint. Instead of directly moulding onto the patient's body, the mould captures the anatomy first, then the splint is manufactured from the mould, decoupling the patient from the manufacturing process while preserving anatomical accuracy.
2Manufacturing precision
If custom splints are manufactured using traditional methods, then patient-specific fit is achieved, but manufacturing costs and time are high
Solution Approach 1:
Traditional mechanical moulding methods are replaced with digital scanning and three-dimensional printing technologies. The patient's anatomy is scanned to create a digital model, which is then used to manufacture the mould and splint through additive manufacturing, significantly reducing manufacturing time and cost while maintaining patient-specific precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The manufacturing process transitions from traditional material moulding to digital parameter-based manufacturing. By capturing anatomical parameters through scanning and using digital modeling, the splint can be manufactured with precise patient-specific dimensions without the time-consuming traditional moulding process.
3Manufacturing precision
If photo-polymeric material is used with image projection for splint production, then custom fit is achieved, but the process requires complex equipment and multiple steps
Solution Approach 1:
The complex photo-polymerization process with image projection is replaced by extracting only the essential function: capturing the anatomical geometry. The three-dimensional scanning and moulding process extracts the necessary geometric information without requiring photo-polymeric materials, image projection equipment, or complex curing processes.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of projecting an image onto photo-polymeric material to create the splint shape, the process is inverted: a physical three-dimensional mould of the patient's body part is created first, and then the splint material is moulded onto this physical mould. This inversion simplifies the process by using direct physical contact moulding rather than optical projection and chemical curing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the production of high-quality, patient-specific splints or braces efficiently, reducing manufacturing time and costs, and accommodating complex anatomical features, including lesions, while ensuring patient comfort and immobilization without the need for direct patient involvement.
Implementation Method 1
The three-dimensional mould is produced by milling or additive manufacturing on the basis of the three-dimensional digital model
Implementation Method 2
The three-dimensional mould is produced by milling or additive manufacturing on the basis of the three-dimensional digital model
Implementation Method 3
moulding of thermoformable material onto this mould to create a custom splint or brace
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A
AI summary
There is described a method of producing a custom medical splint or brace (500) for immobilization of a selected region (A) of a patient's body part (L). The custom medical splint or brace (500) is produced in accordance with the following sequences of operations, namely :(a) production of a three-dimensional mould (20) of a portion of the patient's body part (L) comprising the selected region (A) of the patient's body part (L) onto which the desired medical splint or brace (500) is to be placed;(b) definition of a three-dimensional shape of the desired medical splint or brace (500) covering the selected region (A) of the patient's body part (L) onto which the desired medical splint or brace (500) is to be placed;(c) generation of a two-dimensional template (45) of the desired medical splint or brace (500) corresponding to the defined three-dimensional shape, which two-dimensional template (45) corresponds to unfolding in a two-dimensional plane of the three-dimensional shape of the desired medical splint or brace (500);(d) production of at least one plate of mouldable material (50, 55, 55*) in accordance with the two-dimensional template of the desired medical splint or brace (500); and(e) moulding of the plate of mouldable material (50, 55, 55*) onto the three-dimensional mould (20) to shape the desired medical splint or brace (500).