Patricia Knebel
A project based on the use of 3D technologies should cheapen the process of manufacture of prostheses for the upper limbs and, more than that, considerably facilitating the adaptation of patients from a training based on the gameficação.
The new initiative is for researchers from the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory and the Group of Virtual and Augmented Reality of the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU). Engineers, orthopedists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and social agents are involved. The project is in the initial phase, should be completed in four years. Until August 2017, however, should already be possible to have patients using the prosthetic printed in 3D.
The virtual training is one of the most important innovations, points Edgar Lamounier, a researcher and professor at the university. Traditionally, doctors engage the prosthesis real on the arm of the patient, so that he can go on practicing and adapting. It is a challenging situation, as the patient needs to develop a mental ability to master the control of the prosthesis, which can take up to a year.
With the goal of improving this process, is being created a virtual reality environment, that will allow the user to experience the feeling of being using the prosthesis even before it is manufactured. This will be possible with the 3D scan of the remaining part of the arm, which will generate a mesh that will be played in this virtual environment. It will also be designed a 3D mesh of the prosthesis to be used for manufacturing 3D.
all of This will turn into a system only in the virtual world by generating a realistic environment. The gameficação reproduces the day-to-day patient-for example, putting a glass on the table so that he has to move from position A to B and, thus, be able to pass from phase to phase. “We are calling this a serious game, since it does not have as a perspective, the entertainment, and yes the rehabilitation of the patient with the control of the prosthesis,” says Lamounier.
Another innovation is the possibility of customization. As the dimensions vary from one person to another, the 3D printing will allow for a fit as close as possible to the ideal. “Each person is unique, so there will never be a prosthesis that is the same for two individuals with the same level of compatibility,” says the head of the research department of the Faculty of Biomedical of the UFU, Alcimar Barbosa Soares.
This is the first project selected in Brazil to receive technological and financial support of the Foundation Autodesk. The group is using technologies such as 3D modeling (by means of the software Autodesk Fusion 360), virtual reality and 3D printing, and received in this the first resources than US$ 10 thousand, in addition to technical support for the use of the tools.
The prosthetics traditional are made using materials like carbon fiber, and usually have a high cost. A version that offers comfort and mobility to the patient can arrive to cost R$ 300 thousand.
“we Have 500 thousand people in Brazil with some type of amputation and, in addition this value is very far from the reality of the great majority, many do not have conditions of living in large urban centers, where these treatments are offered”, analyzes the researcher Alcimar Barbosa Soares.
The proposal of the work that is being done is to generate a technology strategy and methodology for the generation of the prosthesis and the training that can be implemented in any place. The final cost of the prosthesis for a hand, for example, should be between
$ 800.00 and R$ 5 thousand, depending on the sophistication. The expectation is that any health center of the interior may have the complete solution, which involves the 3D scanning system, a computer of average performance and a 3D printer.
Once the project is ready, the group wants to make it commercial, prospecting companies that may have interest in manufacturing the product. The researchers also intend to submit to the Ministry of Health to create a strategy to bring this technology to all the cities, offering for the Single Health System (SUS).
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