A seminar in Germany to highlight the benefits of using 3D scanning in healthcare
Healthcare has zero tolerance for errors, and our clients in dental clinics, orthotic practices, and medical research laboratories around the world know this simple truth firsthand. That’s why they rely upon Artec 3D scanning technology when it comes to the most intricate jobs connected with patients’ individual anatomy.
How do you make use of a 3D scanner in healthcare and what do you actually gain from using one? What scanners are best for particular applications? These questions along with other related ones will be addressed during a two-day seminar on Additive Manufacturing in Medical Engineering, which will be hosted by a leading German school, Technische Akademie Esslingen.
Artec 3D’s Gold Certified Partner Antonius Köster will give a lecture titled, “3D Scanners and Data Processing in Medical Technology” on April 3, the second day of the seminar. Register for it in advance to hear about best practices in the field as well as to speak with a major provider of tailored 3D scanning solutions in the region.
In case the event is fully booked, let’s take a look at Artec 3D scanners’ main strong points, to see why they race ahead of the competition. First, Artec 3D scanners stand out from the pack due to their unparalleled precision. An example? A client of ours, a San Francisco-based dentistry center uses Artec Space Spider to digitally align patients’ teeth with their faces and then design dental implants that look natural and feel great. Artec Space Spider is a light-weight handheld 3D scanner whose 3D point accuracy reaches 0.05 mm, and that’s exactly what the doctor ordered to make dental clinic patients happy.
Second, Artec 3D scanners are distinct for their high speed and exceptional ease of use, which cuts down the time the patient needs to spend at the doctor’s and makes the appointment much more pleasant. In the past, when 3D scanning was nothing more than a sci-fi concept, an orthotist would normally have to make a plaster cast of their patient’s limb or part of it in order to design an orthosis. The process took at least a couple of hours, and the patient had to sit still throughout that time, waiting for the plaster to dry and harden. Now a limb can be 3D scanned in a matter of minutes, and even if the patient moved around somewhat during the scanning session, the software integrated with the scanner will align the frames the scanner has made without a glitch, and as a result you’ll get the limb’s precise 3D model and will be able to develop a perfectly fitting orthosis. That’s the path followed, for example, by a Guatemala-based non-profit that creates prosthetic devices for locals. The scanner employed for this job is Artec Eva. It features a larger field of view than Space Spider and therefore is great for capturing larger parts of the body without compromising on precision.
Both Eva and Space Spider are absolutely safe for scanning people, and that’s yet another reason to opt for these scanners. They use structured-light technology, and basically it’s the same light that we see in regular bulbs, only in 3D scanning the ray of light is projected onto the surface of the body or object in the form of a grid. Therefore, Artec 3D scanning technology poses no risk to a patient’s health. Check out this success story of a plastic surgeon who scans his patients’ faces in order to 3D print masks showing how the face will look post-op. The patient can then choose which of the options they like best and then make a well thought through decision about what needs to be changed about their looks and how.
If you work in healthcare and want to embrace the exciting opportunities that 3D scanning opens up for you, the additive manufacturing seminar featuring the lecture of Artec 3D’s Partner Antonius Köster is a great place to start!
Where: An der Akademie 5, 73760, Ostfildern, Germany
When: April 2–3