3D Printing Used to Create Helmet For Flat Head Syndrome

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Lincoln and Nolan Potts are twins who both acquired Flat Head Syndrome, a condition occurring when an infant's head is repeatedly in the same position -- leading it to flatten in certain spots like the back or side of the head. Treatment for this condition is a CranioCap, that is custom made to fit each infant's unique skull shape. Enter 3D printing here: St. Paul, Minnesota's Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare acquired a Stratasys 3D printer in time to be able to use it to make Lincoln's CranioCap. The hospital reports that it treat around 1,100 cases of Flat Head Syndrome annually, and so its Stratasys 3D printer acquisition could not come at a better time. Both Lincoln and Nolan are equipped with their CranioCaps now, the difference is that one took about a week to make, and with the help of 3D printing, the other took about five hours to make! More details on this process and the twin patients can be found here: http://3dprint.com/84519/3d-print-helmets-flat-head/


Below is a picture of both Lincoln and Nolan with their respective helmets:

[Drew Davis_GoEngineer]

This is Rad! I worked with them on this deal. We had to come up with a way to eliminate the build time per head so I thought "let's remove the guts but leave it self supporting." That's why there's a cone at the top of the cavity in the model shown in the picture with the computer. This was a fun project that saved Gillette both time and money. This was a really good win.