Healthcare and Medical Prosthesis Industry

Imagine that you need a medical (or dental) implant, say, a coronary stent, new hip joint, or dental bridgework. How precisely made do you want that implant to be? Do you want it to be manufactured from highly detailed designs and custom-fit for you, or are you willing to allow for a lot of wiggle-room, size- and quality-wise? Obviously, the first option is preferable. And today, it’s also possible, thanks to one of the leading technologies impacting medical engineering and manufacturing--non-contact optical scanning.

The worlds of medicine and dentistry have in recent years witnessed phenomenal growth in the use of non-invasive, non-destructive technologies such as Computed Tomography (CT) and 3D laser scanning. For good reason--these non-contact optical scanning tools are able to rapidly capture the complex shapes and sizes of today’s precision medical tools and components with unmatchable accuracy. They are even able to quickly and safely inspect targeted areas of patient anatomies, making it possible to custom-fit implants and other fixtures.

NVision’s medical/dental scanning services are able to digitize everything from the smallest medical component to full equipment assemblies. The versatility of our scanners makes the object’s size a non-issue. Our experienced team of technicians can capture the complex geometries of everything from scalpels to spectrophotometers, tracheal tubes to respirators, and cardiac pacemakers to dental bridgework. Once our team scans, then delivers the final computer-aided design (CAD) file to you, you’ll have a virtual 3D model of your product, an exact duplicate of the physical object in every detail, down to every curve and angle, every groove and hole.

The CAD file we provide can then be used to:

• Reverse engineer unique surgical tools and medical equipment for reproduction

The high-density scanning data we capture, and the CAD file(s) we create from it, will provide you with an exact model of your parts and equipment. You’ll have all the detailed metrological information you need to proceed with mass production, 3D printing, etc. Here’s a real-world example: NVision was contacted by a major developer of breast implants, which lacked the CAD files for a series of mandrels with highly complex curvatures. (In the field of breast augmentation surgery, mandrels are molds that are used to create implants of specific shapes and sizes, such as a teardrop or a round contour.) The manufacturer wanted NVision to scan and create 3D CAD files of its existing mandrels and sent us the existing mandrels, which consisted of about 10 different shapes and sizes. NVision engineers then began digitizing the full geometry of each mandrel. For a project of this nature, involving multiple and complex curvatures, we utilized our own HandHeld 3D laser scanner, which is capable of capturing 60,000 separate measurements per second and is accurate to within +/- one-thousandth of an inch. Despite the many complex curvatures involved, NVision was able to quickly deliver finished 3D CAD models of all the mandrels to the manufacturer. Without the CAD files for the mandrels, it would have been nearly impossible for the manufacturer to reproduce or redesign the original implants.

• Design new surgical products and improve the designs of existing ones

With the CAD file we provide, you’ll be able to view your product in 3D from all angles and make any design modifications necessary to improve quality and functionality. In one application, a surgical equipment manufacturer wanted to develop a new positioning device for a multidebrider, a rotary cutting tool often used in minimally invasive ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeries. However, the manufacturer needed a 3D CAD file of the existing multidebrider in order to design the positioning device, which would attach to the handpiece. Our team scanned the equipment in its entirety--from the tip of the cutting tube to the hand piece, capturing the geometry of the multidebrider in about one hour. We provided the manufacturer with a 3D CAD file of its current multidebrider, which it used to develop the new positioning device. Without this CAD file, the design of the positioning device would have been far more difficult and expensive. Fortunately, ENT patients were able to benefit quickly from the new positioning device, through safer and more efficient multidebrider surgeries.

• Measure and inspect instruments and equipment. Conduct First Article Inspection and deviation analysis.

Due to its high accuracy and ability to capture the smallest details about physical objects, 3D scanning is the ideal tool to use to measure, inspect, and document tools, parts, and equipment. That includes First Article Inspection--determining whether or not the first group of products produced conforms to the original design and engineering specifications. NVision can also deliver full surface models of scanned components together with deviation data to highlight any differences between the as-manufactured parts and the original design intent.

• Create custom-fit implants. Map out surgeries.

Our non-contact CT scanning can--quickly, safely, and accurately--provide practitioners with an enhanced view of patients’ anatomical regions, be it facial, cranial, thoracic, etc. And unlike traditional 2D X-rays, CT scans provide a three-dimensional image of the scanned area, making the patient's skull, teeth, jaw, ribs and other areas viewable from all angles. This provides extra information that can't be obtained solely with X-rays. The ability to obtain these details, together with measurement and inspection of the fixture itself, makes it possible to create custom-fitted implants, prosthetics, braces and other wearable devices.

Since the CAD file we provide captures the scanned region in 3D from all angles, medical professionals can use it to plan procedures and 3D-print models of the operating area in order to practice surgery.

• Recalibrate scanners at medical and dental facilities

The NVision team is ready to visit any facilities that suspect their own equipment may be in need of recalibration. An orthodontic company supplier once utilized our services to scan a human skull as part of the verification/inspection process for its in-house CT machine. The scanning results provided by NVision contained all the measurement data necessary for the orthodontic company to recalibrate its CT machine to the highest possible level of accuracy.

There's a reason why Johnson & Johnson, Stryker, and other medical technology companies and individual practitioners use NVision’s engineering services. For over 30 years, the NVision name has been synonymous with quality work. Our experience in the medical and dental industries shows...in the results we deliver and the customers we keep.

Please contact us by phone (817.416.8006) or email (sales@nvision3d.com) to discuss your 3D Scanning/Measurement needs.