As many people already know, scoliosis is a relatively common affliction—affecting about 3 out of every 100 people—that is diagnosed when a person’s spinal axis has a deviation. Many cases of scoliosis tend to go untreated, resulting in minor back pains and discomforts, but more severe cases of the spine curvature condition should be treated for the patient to lead a normal, comfortable life. Traditional treatments for scoliosis include physical therapy, bracing, casting, and in the most extreme cases surgery. Bracing, one of the more common treatments, is used to keep the spine in its place, and can even gradually reduce the degree of curvature. Of course, the quality and accuracy of the brace, as well as the ability to adjust the brace is paramount to a proper treatment.
This is where Lelio Leoncini comes in. A surgeon specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation at WASP Medical, Leoncini has been working on a particularly innovative scoliosis treatment for the the past couple years. That is, since 2014, Leoncini has been working on perfecting custom 3D printed corsets for scoliosis patients.
As he explains, with a condition like scoliosis that is constantly changing and can even be quite unpredictable, having a method of reliably and easily monitoring the patient’s back is imperative. For this, Leoncini has been using a Raster-stereographic tool from Formetric 3D, which has allowed for non-invasive optical recording. He says, “This experience has allowed me to detect the most critical points of the realization of ortopedic corsets and the consequent impact on the effectiveness of brace treatment, but was also an incentive to search for and find technology systems to solve them.”
In making the 3D printed corsets, the first step is a CAD-CAM capture, wherein low cost infrared sensors can effectively 3D scan and capture the patient’s torso. The technology is also capable of simultaneously correcting the patient’s curvature in a digital model. According to the doctor, the modelling time lasts only about 30 minutes. The benefits of 3D printing the brace are also notable: the technology is cost and materially efficient, even once printed the braces can be recycled and modified, they are lightweight and custom fitted, and have a distinct improved aesthetic quality. Leoncini has been working with the DeltaWASP 40 70 3D printer for his braces.
As one can imagine, the accuracy of the brace is crucial for an adequate treatment, and 3D printing could help significantly in this respect. Leoncini explains the significance of technological advancements in the medical field: “I personally have always had a great interest in fields such as computer science and technology in general and I have never failed to combine these interests in my profession. Medicine is a science and as such never reaches a point of arrival. It always needs to be developed in order to offer more possibilities…Innovation is the tool to break down barriers and provide opportunities to the most disadvantaged people.”
3D printing had allowed for some significant advancements within the field of orthopaedics, as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of orthopaedic technology, Stryker, invested in a state-of-the-art 3D printing facility earlier this year, and a number of other practices have begun to incorporate the technology in one way or another.
