Three weeks ago, we organised an inspiring virtual workshop at OT World Connect 2020. During the event, we met a lot of interesting people, and we received a lot of questions (hundreds of questions 🤯).
It’s a good thing you’re curious since the road to innovation requires some research and finding the right partners. Whether you’re discovering the possibilities of 3D technologies for the first time or whether you have experience with 3D but are still searching for how exactly to create real added value, we invite you to watch our virtual workshop and the extended Q&A that we organised on the 27th and 28th of October.
Don’t you have the time to watch 2 hours of workshops? We hear you! That’s why we have collected the five questions we were asked most during OT World 2020.
1. Does Spentys offer orthotics for body parts other than the upper limb?
Sometimes, people have the impression that we focus a lot on upper limbs. While our scan rectification and in-application modelling solution are indeed focused on the upper limbs (for now), this is not entirely true. We have already helped orthopaedic technicians use 3D technology to create all kind of orthotics. In fact, most models you can find in our catalogue are not for the upper limb. In this catalogue you will find a wide variety of orthotics for the lower limbs, torso, neck and head. Besides, we also offer models available that you can use for moulds and prosthetic shells.
As of today, you can use the Spentys iOS application to model orthotics for the upper limb directly on the iPad, but in the future, this function will also be rolled out for lower-limb orthotics and, in a later phase, for all orthotics of the catalogue.
2. What printing technology, other than FDM, do you offer?
Another misconception about Spentys is that we only offer FDM printing and that the devices always need to be printed at our production facility, which is not the case. At Spentys we master all the additive manufacturing capabilities, and we work together with you to identify the best production techniques and procedures for your practice. Through our partnerships with 3rd party 3Dprinting manufactures, we can offer a wide array of printing technologies like FDM-, DLP- to SLS and MultiJet printing. Together we can help you define what’s best for your situation.
There are advantages and disadvantages to all different printing techniques. For an in-depth comparison of all techniques, you can consult our 3D printing expert guide. Here you will also find more information on how to integrate 3D printing into your workflow correctly.
3. Are the 3D printed orthotics biocompatible and MDR compliant?
All of the materials that we use in our production, and that we offer to our users, are biocompatible. All the materials have been through a strict testing program. Furthermore, we understand that MDR is a big change that causes a lot of stress for orthopaedic technicians who have to adapt their processes accordingly. For more information on the new MDR regulation, how it will affect you and how you need to prepare, we kindly refer to our regulatory expert guide. Note that the Spentys platform helps you automatically generate MDR compliant reports for all the created devices.
4. What scanner and scanning software do I need to use Spentys?
We use a structured sensor, but we created our own scanning software that we believe is best suited for most pathologies. Once you sign up with Spentys, we send you an iPad with our scanning software pre-installed on the iPad, and you can start immediately. However, you can use other scanning devices that you prefer to generate a 3D file that can later be uploaded to the Spentys platform. For more information on which scanner works best for a given situation, we prepared an expert guide on 3D scanning.
5. Is Spentys available in my country?
Short answer: Yes. However, we are in the final steps of completing our FDA approval for our friends in the United States. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us so that we can update you when everything is ready. If you are based outside of the United States, we can already sign you up today. We have already successfully onboarded customers remotely in 3 continents. Our application specialists will be happy to guide you through the process.
