We’re focused on healthcare and research in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, including 3D printed prosthetics, patient-specific implants, drug delivery, and more. Read on for all the details!
Students from Queen’s University Bringing Accessible Prosthetics to Thailand
Queen’s students, including members of the Queen’s Biomedical Innovation Team (QBiT), continue to work on developing and fine-tuning designs for prosthetics that can be created using a 3D printer. (Photo courtesy Burma Children Medical Fund)
Almost two decades ago, Queen’s University researchers Eva Purkey (Family Medicine) and Colleen Davison (Public Health) started traveling annually to a clinic in Thailand to help with health workshops and policy reform. They also started working with NGO Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), which helps underserved communities get access to surgical treatment. In 2019, BCMF launched a 3D prosthesis project, and Drs. Purkey and Davison worked with other Queen’s colleagues to get funding and set up a recurring partnership, in which students do 90-day placements within BCMF. Emese Elkind, a biomedical computing student at Queen’s, started with the program as a summer volunteer, and has now spent the last three years leading a team of engineering students from the Queen’s Biomedical Innovation Team (QBiT) in the design and development of accessible 3D printed prosthetics for migrants running from civil war.
BCMF had access to open source prosthetic designs, as well as donated 3D printers, but they didn’t have an open source design for above-elbow amputees. Elkind wanted to solve the problem, and worked with the QBIT team to create a harness system that can independently move the elbow, as well as each individual finger, without using the kind of robotics or electronics that are hard to maintain in resource-limited areas like Burma and Thailand. Their work has received plenty of recognition and awards at North American engineering competitions, and they donated half of their prize money to BCMF to fund translation services, surgeries, transitional housing, and access to professional design software. Elkind says the experience has been “life changing, and has reshaped the way I think about engineering, where our job isn’t just to make new technology, it’s to solve real problems.” As she prepares to start her master’s program, Elkind is moving to a senior advisory role for the Queen’s and BCMF prosthetics project.
CureWith3D Working to Support Personalized Healthcare in India
Image: CureWith3D
Clinicians these days are better equipped to plan operations with high precision and accuracy ahead of complex surgical procedures, thanks to technologies like CAD engineering, advanced imaging, and 3D printing. India-based company CureWith3D specializes in 3D printing and digital surgical planning, and reported that it’s working to strengthen its patient-specific healthcare offering
We’re focused on healthcare and research in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, including 3D printed prosthetics, patient-specific implants, drug delivery, and more. Read on for all the details!
Students from Queen’s University Bringing Accessible Prosthetics to Thailand
Queen’s students, including members of the Queen’s Biomedical Innovation Team (QBiT), continue to work on developing and fine-tuning designs for prosthetics that can be created using a 3D printer. (Photo courtesy Burma Children Medical Fund)
Almost two decades ago, Queen’s University researchers Eva Purkey (Family Medicine) and Colleen Davison (Public Health) started traveling annually to a clinic in Thailand to help with health workshops and policy reform. They also started working with NGO Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), which helps underserved communities get access to surgical treatment. In 2019, BCMF launched a 3D prosthesis project, and Drs. Purkey and Davison worked with other Queen’s colleagues to get funding and set up a recurring partnership, in which students do 90-day placements within BCMF. Emese Elkind, a biomedical computing student at Queen’s, started with the program as a summer volunteer, and has now spent the last three years leading a team of engineering students from the Queen’s Biomedical Innovation Team (QBiT) in the design and development of accessible 3D printed prosthetics for migrants running from civil war.
BCMF had access to open source prosthetic designs, as well as donated 3D printers, but they didn’t have an open source design for above-elbow amputees. Elkind wanted to solve the problem, and worked with the QBIT team to create a harness system that can independently move the elbow, as well as each individual finger, without using the kind of robotics or electronics that are hard to maintain in resource-limited areas like Burma and Thailand. Their work has received plenty of recognition and awards at North American engineering competitions, and they donated half of their prize money to BCMF to fund translation services, surgeries, transitional housing, and access to professional design software. Elkind says the experience has been “life changing, and has reshaped the way I think about engineering, where our job isn’t just to make new technology, it’s to solve real problems.” As she prepares to start her master’s program, Elkind is moving to a senior advisory role for the Queen’s and BCMF prosthetics project.
CureWith3D Working to Support Personalized Healthcare in India
Image: CureWith3D
Clinicians these days are better equipped to plan operations with high precision and accuracy ahead of complex surgical procedures, thanks to technologies like CAD engineering, advanced imaging, and 3D printing. India-based company CureWith3D specializes in 3D printing and digital surgical planning, and reported that it’s working to strengthen its patient-specific healthcare offering