How Additive Technology Can Improve the O&P Industry 

Within the orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) industry, bespoke devices are designed, and custom built by specialized clinicians to fit the direct needs of their patients. The typical process of O&P can be distilled into several distinct steps. First, the clinician meets with the patient and determines what design is best for the patient’s needs. The clinician carefully considers these requirements and appropriately designs the brace or prosthetic socket. In order to produce a satisfactory product, the clinician may have to iterate through the design process multiple times. The patient assessment and device design process can traditionally take days to weeks. Done conventionally this process stacks both material costs and time spent on any given project therefore limiting the clinician’s potential to expand the number of patients they are working with.

With the advancement of 3D printing, new methods of production have surfaced, providing O&P clinicians an opportunity to not only streamline their manufacturing processes, but also reduce cost while doing so. Essentium is currently working with Vorum to deliver a full solution to clinics, allowing for easy patient scanning, device designing, and finally device printing of various O&P devices. In this webinar we will focus on design considerations for 3d printing O&P devices, preparing devices for printing (slicing), and how to post-process devices to maximize material and device performance. This will be demonstrated on relevant industry devices such as ankle foot orthotics (AFOs) and hard/soft lower limb sockets.