3D Printing: Saving Soles, One at a Time

Drew Turney | Brisbane Times | September 20, 2017

After years of funny desk toys, one of the areas 3D printing might be set to transform is medical devices.

While some treatment and disability tools, such as wheelchairs, have a one-size-fits-all nature, many are personal to the individual needs of the user or their carers, and it's a tricky balance to manufacture them in small enough numbers to be cost effective for both manufacturers and patients. That's where 3D printing comes in – digitally scanning a user's unique body profile and building the solution on a one-off basis faster and cheaper than a factory tooled up for mass manufacture.

In Germany, a collaboration between several research institutes funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research is making footwear insoles for diabetic people. Tailored specifically to each wearer, the researchers scan the patient's foot and produce a 3D printed insole based on the resulting computer model, complete with pliable or supportive areas matching the skin wounds characteristic of the disease.

Now, western Sydney-based start-up AbilityMate is joining the revolution with a program making 3D printed Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFO) for kids with cerebral palsy. A collaboration with community organisations and medical science companies, AbilityMate can now scan a patient's feet and create custom devices using 3D printers in only hours, instead of weeks. Co-founder Mel Fuller says the organisation's plan is to "develop and test a digital process of manufacturing AFOs that is more child-centric, faster and lays the foundation for further innovation and optimisation"...