Background
India has a high incidence of facial deformity from burns, trauma, disease and birth defects. Sufferers often face social stigma making them vulnerable to exclusion and less able to contribute to the economic and social development of a community.
Custom made (patient specific) medical devices such as prostheses and burns treatment splints, can dramatically improve appearance and reduce social affects of facial difference.
The provision of patient specific medical devices in India is currently severely limited. Production methods require highly skilled technical and clinical staff to hand make each piece which limits availability by both proximity to a specialist centre and high manufacturing costs. 3D digital tools, manufacturing and design methods offer the potential to reduce the cost of fabrication as well as improve accessibility to patient specific devices through distributed (local) manufacturing.
What We Will Do
This project will build on the Indian culture of Jugaad (developing low cost innovative solutions using locally available resources) to discover novel ways of using 3D digital technologies to develop locally appropriate solutions to the treatment of facial deformities across India. With the support of design and medical experts, we aim to dramatically reduce the unit cost of fabrication and increase accessibility to treatment.
We will work with patients, medical professionals, key stakeholders from academia, industry and community representatives to explore local skills, supply chains and potential production methods. We will identify skills shortages and training requirements within participating communities.