17 December 2019
Featured in one of Mediacorp Channel 8 狮城有约 lifestyle segments, Senior Prosthetist/Orthotist, Tsurayuki Murakami Guanzhi from Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s Department of Foot Care and Limb Design Centre, shared about the benefits of 3D-printed foot brace versus conventional foot brace, its innovation, challenges and the team's future plan.
Stroke patient Mdm Siew who benefited from the new technology, has been wearing the 3D-printed foot brace since last year and shared that the customised foot brace gives her better comfort and support and helps improve her walking posture.
Digitalising the fabrication process has greatly benefited both patients and clinicians. With 3D technology, the whole fabrication time is reduced. For new patients, the waiting time is now shorten from 12 weeks to 1-4 weeks. Mr Tsurayuki said, "Now, we just need about 10 minutes to scan patient’s leg instead of using plaster casting method which takes a longer time and the whole digitalisation process is less messy. With 3D imaging we can further augment the geometry to adjust the thickness and improve the strength and durability of the foot brace by bringing better comfort and fit to the patients according to individual needs. The finalized 3D image will then be sent to our printing partner for the completion of the product."
Watch the full video here.