In the Twente region, an ecosystem focused on medical 3D printing has developed over the past few years. Researchers from Saxion University of Applied Sciences collaborate with the Medisch Spectrum Twente, Ziekenhuisgroep Twente, Roessingh Rehabilitation Center, OCON, and various (commercial) partners. Within this ecosystem, 3D printing is used to create preoperative models, cutting guides, and simple medical devices, among other things.

TPAC has recently contributed to the development of 3D-printed prostheses that are locally reinforced with continuous glass fiber-reinforced Polypropylene. The thermoplastic tape material has so far been manually applied to the prosthesis. Currently, a student is working on automating this process so that the reinforcement can be applied in the future using a simple winding setup.

The non-reinforced and reinforced prostheses were tested in TPAC’s laboratory. For this purpose, a special test setup was designed to simulate the actual load on the prosthesis. The test setup with the clamped prosthesis can be seen in the photo.

The project, which was subsidized under the RAAK-public scheme of the regie orgaan SIA, ended on June 30th. The tests were successfully completed, and a solid foundation has been laid for further development.