Session 3 – Saturday
The design process of SmartScan; Visualizing expert knowledge in the digital world: a gamechanger in the field of orthotists and pedorthists (30min)
To date, more and more importance is attached to being able to participate and contribute to society. The so-called labor participation through work and social life is an important indicator of quality of life. The Orthopedic technology, the profession that provides people who experience a mobility problem, with personal – custom made- aids such as an Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFO) or Orthopedic footwear (OF) for foot problems, provides the task of maintaining or regaining mobility. In improving the workflow and visualizing the actions of the pedorthist (i.e. Orthopedic engineer, Orthopedic Technologist.
The design and manufacturing of an AFO is a complex and multidisciplinary process in which the orthopedic technologist makes many implicit decisions based on experience and expertise. Parameters that play a role in this process are medical, clinical, physical environmental and material as well as social and psychological. In every step of the examination process, to diagnosis, to care plan, to fitting, to manufacturing and delivery (described in the Process Description Medical Devices) relevant patient information is translated into decisions. Experienced practitioners do this in a holistic way, taking all information into account and implicitly weighing what is most relevant for what purpose. Which information is relevant for which decision is not tangible and explicit. Especially the casting/ measuring phase using plaster of Paris or casting material to capture the geometrical form of the Ankle Foot complex including the desired corrections of the foot is an implicit process in working and handling of the OST. A big advantage of this way of working is that the expert literally feels what the expert (practitioner) is doing during the casting process.
In the European Union countries, the readiness levels (RL) assessment tool has been used for determining funding research, as well as evaluating and analysing barriers affecting technology development. For instance, Nano Com applied the RL to marketing, manufacturing, technology, and investment to detect impediments in each phase [Duret, 2009]. The readiness levels consist out of a a variety of ‘so called’ readiness levels such as the Technology Readiness Level (TRL), The Business Readiness level (BRL), the Commercial Readiness level (CRL) and the Educational Readiness level (ERL).
The presentation will elaborate in detail these four readiness levels of the SmartScan scanning device.
Fred Holtkamp
Fred Holtkamp
Associate Professor & Researcher ||
Fontys University
Fred Holtkamp has currently the position of Associate Professor of the Chair in Health Innovation of Fontys University of Allied Health Professions in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. He also holds a position as visiting professor at the University of Labor and Social Affairs (ULSA) in Hanoi Vietnam.
He started his career in medical engineering and is now for more than 20 years working in the field of Prosthetics – Orthotics, (Orthopedic Engineering) and Shoe-Technology. He is specialized in biomechanics, gait analysis and cad/cam systems.
He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and in mechatronics and also a PGdip in gait analysis, biomechanics and orthotics. He received his Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation engineering at Strathclyde University in Glasgow. In 2021 he is distinguished with the title of “Officer in the order of Oranje Nassau’ for his work in education and research in orthopedic engineering and shoe technology.
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Thinking outside of the box through Pedorthic Information Modeling (30min)
The current work is presenting a model of exploring and improving orthopedic footwear design and manufacture through the concept of Pedorthic Information Modeling defined as the environment for the digital representation of the aesthetic, physical, and functional characteristics of the information model of the medical footwear. The concept was translated into practice through a Grasshopper visual programming code and 3D-Printing of orthopedic footwear. Digital solutions used in the product design and digital manufacturing and based on parametric thinking and parametric design are offering new possibilities to achieve new technical characteristics and aesthetic appearance otherwise impossible to be obtained through traditional manufacturing methods. With Pedorthic Information Modeling as a baseline, Pedorthists, computational and product designers can create an advanced design that adheres to the medical principles of the field while maintaining flexibility in the design process. Such flexibility enables the use of new metamaterials, geometrical creativity, and the data
which is needed to produce a high-end medical product. Parametric thinking process doesn’t allow an efficient and functional process without a clear definition and meaning of the inputs, functions and outcomes for all collaborators. So if the product aesthetic is an output then the inputs and functions implied in the creation of the product aesthetic should be in detail clarified in order to be functional. As this concept is based on parametric thinking it can facilitate the collaboration between 2 different specialists in order for the therapeutically value and aesthetic appearance of the orthopedic footwear to be improved with a positive impact of patient’s acceptance.
The translation of the Pedorthic Information Modeling into practice is exemplified through the process of parametric designing and fully 3D-printing through FFF (fused filament fabrication) manufacturing process of a pair of orthopedic footwear for a patient having bilateral rigid equinus and a lower limb discrepancy as a result of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Several conclusions can be drawn from this work: orthopedic footwear can now be designed utilizing metamaterials that cannot be fabricated with standard hand-made focused workflows; it is possible to introduce a new type of product aesthetic which will result in improved end-product quality and patient satisfaction; this novel concept highlights the benefits of thinking outside of the box while adopting digitalization in Pedorthics, starting with the Pedorthist being trained in parametric/computational design – a strategy which has the ability to raise the profile of such a complex profession.
Daniel Petcu
Daniel Petcu
PhD Eng ||
Pedorthic Art
Daniel Petcu is a footwear engineer with a Ph.D. awarded based on a thesis focused on foot orthoses for diabetic feet. He has developed the new concept of Pedorthic Information Modeling defined as the environment for the digital representation of the aesthetic, physical, and functional characteristics of the information model of medical footwear. The concept was translated into practice through a Grasshopper visual programming code and 3D-printing of foot orthoses and orthopedic footwear. The Pedorthic Information Modeling concept and the Grasshopper code are being continuously developed and tested to be further validated by practice. They have been presented at significant events such as OTWorld in Leipzig, Germany (2022, 2024), IVO-OST in Koln, Germany (2022), FootPRINT3D in Barcelona, Spain (2023), International Rhino User Meeting in Wroclaw, Poland (2024).
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Advance Pressure Mapping
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