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TORONTO WEARABLES MEETUP 21: FRANCIS LEBOUTHILLIER, MANDAD TABRIZI, STACIE VOS

Francis LeBouthiller, an OCAD Professor and former Chair of Sculpture/Installation, has been busy making babies.   Silicone babies, that is.  In his year on sabbatical, LeBouthiller has been undertaking a research project in which he sculpts anatomically correct fetuses for use in training scenarios for surgeons.  When problems arise in the womb and a surgery is necessary, it is very difficult not to mention nerve-wracking for surgeons to operate, particularly with little or no prior experience.  By having anatomically-correct silicone fetuses, complete with fluids and all, surgeons can get become familiar with the methods of these procedures, without the stress of harming the baby.  LeBouthillier, who has been working with surgeons at Mount Sinai Hospital here in Toronto, has witnessed surgeons become more confident in their surgery after practicing on the models he has produced.  In efforts to take his work further in this field he wants to work more digitally.  In his research he has been experimenting with Blender to create digital models, however he has found that the 3D printing of the desired scale of the model was prohibitively expensive.  While he continues to explore the digital realm, he maintains a focus on his traditional sculpture techniques.

Mandad Tabrizi is a recent graduate of OCADU who is currently working on his start-up called Heal-X Innovation.  Heal-X is a therapeutic technology meant to innovate the process of healing broken limbs.  Tabrizi was inspired by an accident in which he broke his hand and had to wear a bulky fiberglass cast that interfered with his daily life and to be frank, stunk.  As a designer, Tabrizi couldn’t help but think about ways in which casts could be improved, noting that although some of the materials themselves have changed, the technology itself has remained the same for 300 years.  Tabrizi also notes that the materials used in traditional casts are not great for the environment.  On comfort, wearability and healing, Tabrizi shows us a list of “side effects” of traditional casts:

Side effects of traditional cast:

-       Odour

-       Muscle atrophy

-       Nerve damage

-       Heavy

-       Waste of material

-       Intimidating removal method

-       No indication of healing

-       Skin infection

-       Poor hygiene

-       Swelling

Further, he tells us that there are certain bones that cannot be cast, such as the humerous.  This is problematic for many people, and in particular certain demographics that may already have trouble with healing bones and stability, such as children and the elderly.

Tabrizi was inspired by the meshing/porous healing approach of the body, and in his work redesigning a cast technology he used this visual and structural approach as his starting point.   Importantly, he notes that the cast should be designed in a way that allows the area of the body to swell naturally.  It needs freedom to swell, but also structural support.  Traditional casts do not offer this freedom to swell.

Tabrizi designed a modular 3D printed cast system that involves an initial 3D scan of the broken/swollen body area, which would result in a unique and custom sized 3D printed cast that would be adhered to the body using long-term medical-grade adhesive.  Over time, as the swelling reduced and certain areas required less support and more mobility, the cast itself would evolve through variations of the cast design.  That is, the patient would receive check-ups and in that check-up would be 3D scanned and fitted for a new 3D printed cast.  This would also enhance the psychological sense of healing, as over time the cast would become smaller and smaller.  Here, Tabrizi lists some of the benefits of his system:

Benefits:

·      prevents unnecessary surgery

·      waterproofing

·      prevent muscle atrophy

·      nerve damage

·      light

·      easy removal method

·      prevent skin infection

·      breathable

·      reduced cost for both patient and healthcare system

Process:

1.     Injury occurs

2.     First diagnosis at hospital by a doctor

3.     CT Scan done to complete the diagnosis process this scan also gets saved as a 3D model in hospital data

4.     Full assessment by an orthopedic surgeon.

5.     RP technician adjusts splint size based on patient CT SCAN and sent to 3D printer

6.     RP uses medical grade resin to build the splint

7.     After print is done HealX splint gets applied to patients hand using adhesive

8.     Patient’s hand is fully immobilized

Tabrizi is in the process of patenting his HealX system, and is continuing to research and develop this technology further

 

Stacie Vos is an architect who has become interested in the trend of medical facial masks.  She has created a series of designer facial masks that, through their tessellations could provide more surface area and therefore increase their ability to protect against pathogens.  She has also been exploring the possibility of these medical masks becoming an extension of ones’ clothing.  When pathogens or pollutants are sensed (via environmental sensors embedded in clothing), the medical mask would deploy from the collar of the shirt.  To express her idea, Vos created a gorgeous series of medical masks using a variety of origami techniques, as well as created prototypes of shirts with masks that would deploy from the collar.  While the shirts are not electronically actuated at the moment, she held place-markers for where she envisioned the sensors and actuators to be housed in the garment. As a test of her soft circuitry design ideas, Vos also showed a sewn example of a Lilypad Arduino with temperature sensor, colour LEDs and muscle wire actuator.

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Francis LeBouthiller, an OCAD Professor and former Chair of Sculpture/Installation, has been busy making babies.   Silicone babies, that is.  In his year on sabbatical, LeBouthiller has been undertaking a research project in which he sculpts anatomically correct fetuses for use in training scenarios for surgeons.  When problems arise in the womb and a surgery is necessary, it is very difficult not to mention nerve-wracking for surgeons to operate, particularly with little or no prior experience.  By having anatomically-correct silicone fetuses, complete with fluids and all, surgeons can get become familiar with the methods of these procedures, without the stress of harming the baby.  LeBouthillier, who has been working with surgeons at Mount Sinai Hospital here in Toronto, has witnessed surgeons become more confident in their surgery after practicing on the models he has produced.  In efforts to take his work further in this field he wants to work more digitally.  In his research he has been experimenting with Blender to create digital models, however he has found that the 3D printing of the desired scale of the model was prohibitively expensive.  While he continues to explore the digital realm, he maintains a focus on his traditional sculpture techniques.

Mandad Tabrizi is a recent graduate of OCADU who is currently working on his start-up called Heal-X Innovation.  Heal-X is a therapeutic technology meant to innovate the process of healing broken limbs.  Tabrizi was inspired by an accident in which he broke his hand and had to wear a bulky fiberglass cast that interfered with his daily life and to be frank, stunk.  As a designer, Tabrizi couldn’t help but think about ways in which casts could be improved, noting that although some of the materials themselves have changed, the technology itself has remained the same for 300 years.  Tabrizi also notes that the materials used in traditional casts are not great for the environment.  On comfort, wearability and healing, Tabrizi shows us a list of “side effects” of traditional casts:

Side effects of traditional cast:

-       Odour

-       Muscle atrophy

-       Nerve damage

-       Heavy

-       Waste of material

-       Intimidating removal method

-       No indication of healing

-       Skin infection

-       Poor hygiene

-       Swelling

Further, he tells us that there are certain bones that cannot be cast, such as the humerous.  This is problematic for many people, and in particular certain demographics that may already have trouble with healing bones and stability, such as children and the elderly.

Tabrizi was inspired by the meshing/porous healing approach of the body, and in his work redesigning a cast technology he used this visual and structural approach as his starting point.   Importantly, he notes that the cast should be designed in a way that allows the area of the body to swell naturally.  It needs freedom to swell, but also structural support.  Traditional casts do not offer this freedom to swell.

Tabrizi designed a modular 3D printed cast system that involves an initial 3D scan of the broken/swollen body area, which would result in a unique and custom sized 3D printed cast that would be adhered to the body using long-term medical-grade adhesive.  Over time, as the swelling reduced and certain areas required less support and more mobility, the cast itself would evolve through variations of the cast design.  That is, the patient would receive check-ups and in that check-up would be 3D scanned and fitted for a new 3D printed cast.  This would also enhance the psychological sense of healing, as over time the cast would become smaller and smaller.  Here, Tabrizi lists some of the benefits of his system:

Benefits:

·      prevents unnecessary surgery

·      waterproofing

·      prevent muscle atrophy

·      nerve damage

·      light

·      easy removal method

·      prevent skin infection

·      breathable

·      reduced cost for both patient and healthcare system

Process:

1.     Injury occurs

2.     First diagnosis at hospital by a doctor

3.     CT Scan done to complete the diagnosis process this scan also gets saved as a 3D model in hospital data

4.     Full assessment by an orthopedic surgeon.

5.     RP technician adjusts splint size based on patient CT SCAN and sent to 3D printer

6.     RP uses medical grade resin to build the splint

7.     After print is done HealX splint gets applied to patients hand using adhesive

8.     Patient’s hand is fully immobilized

Tabrizi is in the process of patenting his HealX system, and is continuing to research and develop this technology further

 

Stacie Vos is an architect who has become interested in the trend of medical facial masks.  She has created a series of designer facial masks that, through their tessellations could provide more surface area and therefore increase their ability to protect against pathogens.  She has also been exploring the possibility of these medical masks becoming an extension of ones’ clothing.  When pathogens or pollutants are sensed (via environmental sensors embedded in clothing), the medical mask would deploy from the collar of the shirt.  To express her idea, Vos created a gorgeous series of medical masks using a variety of origami techniques, as well as created prototypes of shirts with masks that would deploy from the collar.  While the shirts are not electronically actuated at the moment, she held place-markers for where she envisioned the sensors and actuators to be housed in the garment. As a test of her soft circuitry design ideas, Vos also showed a sewn example of a Lilypad Arduino with temperature sensor, colour LEDs and muscle wire actuator.