AdventHealth Nicholson Center Unveils 3D Printing Prototype Lab

AdventHealth Nicholson Center announced the official launch of its Prototype Lab to provide the technology, industry knowledge and testing needed to take a medical product from concept to working prototype.

The Prototype Lab is a space for physicians, researchers,engineers and other healthcare professionals to develop their ideas for medicaldevices. Nicholson Center’s in-house engineers use the latest technology in 3DComputer-Aided Design (CAD) modeling and 3D printing to develop, test andrefine inventions to improve clinical outcomes.

“Our expert team can help bring an idea from ‘napkin sketch’to reality, and our 3D printing capabilities allow inventors to hold an actualversion of their device in their hands for evaluation,” said Jodi Fails, B.S.,Biomedical Engineer and Prototype Lab lead at AdventHealth Nicholson Center.“Most product developers assist with creation but have to look externally forlab testing. However, with Nicholson Center’s Prototype Lab, we have the uniqueability to take inventions straight from the printer to the lab for immediatetesting on high-quality tissue.”

To begin the development process, the Prototype Labengineers first take the inventor’s initial concept and complete a preliminaryart and patent search. Then, they begin the process of CAD 3D modeling. Once afinal design is selected, the model is sent to the in-house Objet350 Connex3polyjet printer, which can print more than 1,000 materials – including rigidplastic, flexible rubber, transparent, full color and any combination – for afunctional prototype. After evaluation, the inventor can immediately test theirdevice on tissue in the same building through Nicholson Center’s labs. If aninventor has a product that is ready to be reviewed by the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA), Nicholson Center can also serve as a validating site forthe product’s testing period.

“Beyond the technology and testing capabilities at NicholsonCenter, our experts bring the pivotal industry knowledge that is so crucial tothe early stages of product development,” said Lilly Graziani, Director ofCorporate Development at AdventHealth Nicholson Center. “With a key balance oftradition and innovation, our engineers, physicians and clinical staff workwith inventors to create a product that will reach the medical community’sultimate goal: improving patient outcomes.”

Additionally, thePrototype Lab can assist with personalized medicine. For instance, NicholsonCenter engineers can 3D print patient anatomy converted from a CT or MRI scanto be used during patient consultation, surgical planning, and as a referencethroughout a procedure – providing physicians with an additional pre-surgeryplanning tool. The lab can also help develop specialized educational trainingdevices to be used in courses to teach specific procedures or for training onparticular machines.