July 19, 2021
The “one size fits all” model no longer fits for medical wearables and sports and protective gear. The future is personal.
Imagine a practitioner creating a unique and perfectly fitted medical device for a patient in just minutes at the point of care. Twikit empowers medical OEMs, orthopedic professionals, and consumer brands to tap into mass customization of on-demand, custom-fit, digitally manufactured orthoses, and sports gear.
Enabling the use of innovative 3D technologies for orthoses
Conventional methods for the made-to-fit creation of orthoses and sports gear are time-consuming and require many steps. Instead of creating casts and molds by hand, specialists have started working with 3D scanning and 3D printing to create lightweight and comfortable devices. These new processes eliminate the need for extensive manual labor.
The challenge then is the translation from a scan to a physical 3D-printed device that fits immaculately, requiring no CAD engineering skills. This is where the Twikit platform, with its proprietary TwikFit solution, steps in.
Made-to-fit products at scale while reducing costs
TwikFit, an easy-to-use ‘scan-to-fit solution’, allows medical professionals and consumer brands to create perfectly fitting orthoses and sports gear based on biometric data. This process is an end-to-end solution and is fully automated for an efficient and labor-reductive procedure.
Orthopedics or consumer brands do not need any engineering skills due to the platform’s user-friendly technology. With Twikit, they can create more orthoses in a smaller timeframe, with higher efficiency and fewer errors by following the six predefined steps.
And with efficiency, the use of innovative materials, and reducing manual labor, TwikFit reduces costs. 3D prints are generally less expensive than traditional plaster cast methods. It is also worth noting that hospitals which rely on 3D scan data for medical products such as orthoses require fewer certifications. This translates into cost savings for the hospital’s side.
Design a custom orthotic device without CAD expertise
Imagine designing a brace with a fit so meticulous it feels intuitive. Such a device can be realized even without the slightest bit of CAD knowledge through TwikFit.
TwikFit uses scan data that adapts a product template (e.g., a hand brace) via a morphing process, resulting in a unique product geometry. Various corrective procedures at the scan level (scraping and angle corrections) eliminate challenges like bony prominence or too much pressure. Similarly, liners can be added to prevent friction.
Through TwikFit’s customization possibilities, the patient can choose features like material, color, structure, or finish and adjust the orthoses to their aesthetic preference if necessary. In the case of a hand brace, selecting lightweight material helps the patient avoid a heavy cast or excessive pressure on the wrist or forearm. The highly customized device leads to greater patient compliance, too—which is great for patient results.
TwikFit: part of a greater AM eco-system
TwikFit is compatible with a wide range of scanners, 3D printers, and parts from many OEMs. The additive manufacturing eco-system that Twikit has built enables practitioners and consumer brands to work with their preferred suppliers and advanced materials. It allows them to make the TwikFit solution their own and integrate it into their preferred workflow.
Connect with Twikit for the medical industry of the future
The TwikFit cloud-based software solution enables an end-to-end automated digital workflow for orthoses and sports gear at scale and on-demand. The flow automates the process, eliminates cost-heavy inventories, manufacturing dependencies, and physical warehouses while optimizing production efficiency.