Team:
Dom Parise, CoE, Computer Science, BSE 2015
Brett Jia, Ross & CoE, Business Administration & Computer Science, BBA/BS 2017
Eric Pfeiffer, SI & SPH, Health Informatics, MHI 2017
Ben Rathi, Ross & CS, Strategy/Finance & ML, BBA/BS 2017
Industry: Orthotic Devices, 3D Scanning & Printing
Problem: Orthotics is a specialty within the medical field concerned with the design, manufacture and application of orthoses. An orthosis (plural: orthoses) is “an externally applied device used to modify the structural and functional characteristics of the neuromuscular and skeletal system”. Today, the most common method for manufacturing custom orthotic devices requires plaster molding followed by a lengthy heat treatment process, which typically has patients waiting 2-4 weeks between an initial clinic visit and final fitting of the device.
Solution: ArborThotics enables a new process to manufacture custom orthotic devices by connecting orthotists with 3D scanning & printing through the cloud. Born out of a research project aiming to realize same-day or next-day orthotics treatment, our proprietary algorithms generate 3D printable CAD models of custom orthotic devices based on data from FDA approved 3D surface scanners.