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| Andiamo plans to raise funds on Indiegogo to support development of its 3-D custom orthotics for disabled children.--Courtesy of Andiamo |
As 3-D printing gains traction within the industry, British startup Andiamo is launching a crowdfunding effort to develop 3-D printed orthotic devices for disabled children.
The company plans to raise £60,000 ($100,000) on Indiegogo to create custom orthotics using 3-D scanning and digital printing technology, MedCity News reports. Andiamo's end goal is to reduce wait time for pediatric orthotics from 13 weeks to 48 hours, addressing a global need and improving outcomes for patients, the company said on its website.
Andiamo will use funds collected from its Indiegogo campaign to design prototypes throughout the next year and to test its 3-D printed products in real patients to attract future investment, according to the MedCity News article. Initial fundraising will help the company raise enough money to work with three families, with the end goal of achieving private sales and establishing a permanent clinic presence. Andiamo has already started to research clinical use cases at a U.K. university and develop relationships with the country's leading clinicians.
Andiamo is not the only company harnessing 3-D technology to create innovative devices. Earlier this year, doctors at University Medical Center Utrecht announced that they had replaced the top part of a human skull with a 3-D printed implant, restoring the patient's vision and motor coordination. Last month, Chinese physicians successfully implanted the first 3-D printed vertebrae in a 12-year-old boy, replacing a section of cancerous vertebrae with a 3-D printed piece made from titanium powder.
In the meantime, devicemakers rolling out next-generation 3-D printed products could face heightened FDA scrutiny. The agency recently created an additive manufacturing working group to weigh in on potential challenges and solutions for producing devices through 3-D printing and runs two laboratories that examine how 3-D printing could affect the future of device manufacturing. Federal regulators will convene in October for an additive manufacturing workshop that could weigh heavily on future guidance.
- read the MedCity News article
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