Automatic production of patient adapted orthopaedic braces using 3D -modelling technology

Abstract

The research group in biomechanics at NTNU Aalesund works in close cooperation with the orthopaedic surgeons at Aalesund Hospital. One of the research activities has been to develop an automatic procedure for producing individual patient adapted orthopaedic braces for hand fractures. This paper is a result of this cooperation. The work has so far resulted in the design and 3D printing of individually adapted orthopaedic braces for simple fractures in the hand and arm. However, much of the production of these has been manual and time consuming. Now, a practical procedure for producing such braces in the clinic is about to be realized. This paper presents the development of the production procedure and testing of the resulting braces. The results of this research are then discussed regarding the challenges involved and benefits of introducing this procedure into the orthopaedic clinic.