Currently there are a few universities and technical programs that are incorporating additive manufacturing into their curriculum. Additive manufacturing will only become more relevant, and as more patients require O&P devices over time additive is the perfect solution. Including additive into curriculum will require teaching students about scanning patients using a 3D scanner, CAD training to teach students how to build devices in a 3D digital space, material knowledge to select the correct material for any use case they may see, and finally knowledge of the overall technology so students understand how additive manufacturing works and when to utilize it correctly.

Early adopters are already benefiting from 3D printing
Early adoption of additive manufacturing in the O&P industry is occurring right now, and many clinics are benefiting from the advantage. Early adopters get to set the pace of the industry and are seeing not just better patient outcomes due to more consistent design and manufacturing process but are also seeing an increase in patient volume. As a machine produces devices, clinicians are free to see many more patients and sustain a larger patient base reliably. In addition to these great benefits, these flagship clinicians are the first to create and test many new materials and designs that the O&P industry has not seen before, taking advantage of these and leading innovation in the O&P field.
About the author: Garrett Harmon is an applications engineer for Essentium Inc.

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