1 Corresponding Author smabdi@ualberta.ca 978-1-7281-3058-3/19/$31.00 © 2019 IEEE Qualitative & Quantitative Assessment of 3D Printing of Prostheses in Low Economic Setting Syed Umer Abdi 1 , Walied Moussa, Ahmed Jawad Qureshi Faculty of Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada Abstract—The applicability and cost effectiveness in prosthetic industry is monumental. Underdeveloped parts of the World are coping with challenges like poverty, lack of technology & expertise, natural & man-made disasters as well as conundrums of untapped explosive mines. In addition, people living in such areas are mainly associated with labour intensive professions working in small industries and agriculture lacking health & safety measures. Individuals exposed to such environment are often prone to accidents due to safety lapses & fatal diseases and need low-cost prosthetic devices due to amputation in order to rehabilitate, get back to work and live a better quality of life. The consideration of supply chain models, technology used in additive manufacturing, materials properties, cost & customer satisfaction is essential for optimizing the use of 3D printing & additive manufacturing in prosthesis in such parts of the World. The usage of novel techniques such as 3D Printing and conventional methods like Injection Molding and feasibility of providing optimum solution in terms of hybrid models while considering the advantages of availability, affordability and mass production of conventional techniques, and prototype development, simulation, customization and design freedom using 3D printing & additive manufacturing is qualitatively & quantitatively analyzed in this paper. Keywords – Prostheses, 3D Printing, Additive Manufacturing I. INTRODUCTION “Additive Manufacturing is a process by which digital 3D data is used to print a component by layer-by-layer material deposition” which can be used for creation of prosthetic components and provide economic and accessible solution to several other medical applications. Durach et al. investigated bottlenecks in widespread adoption of AM and effect of integrated supply chain in prosthetic industry in switching to AM technology [1]. The biggest obstacle that may impact supply chain models is lack of appropriate business model that integrates customers to the design simulation & product development. Other barriers in application of AM technology in prosthetic industry are; material issues, expertise and production speed. This paper aims to solve these barriers in a low economic setting. As we try to fit different factors to make AM technology a suitable choice for poverty & war stricken under-developed economies, where upper limb amputation occurs usually because of traumatic events, we try to look at different supply chain models. Implications of supply chain on AM technology is widespread, ranging from effects on transportation costs, inventory, lead times, productivity and economic scale. From a supply chain perspective, this research focuses on customer interaction along with the distribution of the product for a low economical setting. The concept of 3D Printing technology is emerging owing to its impact on individualization & customization; however, it demands greater production times and costs. On the other hand, conventional methods such as injection molding significantly reduce this time and encourages mass production, but they fail to provide design freedom owing to the standardization of size. Time and cost constraints are continuously imposed on under-developed or war affected regions and hence deciding the optimal manufacturing method for those in need of a prosthetic device is necessary. Results show that a hybrid approach encompassing features of both techniques is best suited in such areas. The type of actuation required for the prosthetic device is also discussed with respect to the electronic components tailored in the prosthetic device, its robustness and the resource availability in that region. Furthermore, in a low economic setting, people which become victim of limb loss and go through the process of amputation are mostly young adults. Due to amputation, they are deprived in terms of physical & psychological health, social wellbeing & integration, and earning a livelihood. Restoration using prosthesis makes them self-sufficient, rehabilitating them for going back to work & their normal routine, returning the amputee to their functional state before amputation, thus, leading to better quality of life regardless of their socio-economic condition. Proper selection of materials is one of the key requirements for efficient restoration through prostheses in terms of usage. 3D printing has the potential to produce items that are in need in low resource settings, where weak manufacturing capacity make local production impractical, unreliable & weak supply chains, and economic instability make importing products less effective option in terms of cost. Since the economy in such regions is highly dependent on labor, the materials used for prosthesis must be able to withstand high stresses and at the same time provide an individual the desired level of comfort and flexibility required for performing a particular task. This paper analyses and suggests the best suited material for applicability in such environment. Essential managerial aspects to be considered for analyzing the optimal manufacturing method, supply chain model and Authorized licensed use limited to: UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA. Downloaded on December 13,2020 at 01:52:04 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.