Jiangsu Rehabilitation Center for the Handicapped welcomed east China's most advanced artificial limb maker robot Rodin4D on November 23. The equipment that's worth 4.2million yuan can bring "revolutionary" changes for the handicapped.
Tian A'rong, director of the Rehabilitation Center, said that traditional artificial limbs and orthotics are made by hand. The process is complicated. The quality depends totally on the maker's personal experience and skills, and the patient's data cannot be kept. To make artificial limbs, a model has first to be made, so the patient needs to take off clothes and be wrapped with damp plaster bandage, which is uncomfortable both physically and mentally.
The Rodin4D, however, uses infrared laser scanning to make the model without touching the patient, and the model made by Rodin4D is more accurate and comfortable for the patient. The technician can carry a small scanner to provide home service for those who have difficulty in going out, and once the data are obtained, the artificial limb is made somewhere else and the product will be delivered home.
This set of equipment is also good news for young people suffering from scoliosis. Rodin4D can evaluate how to adjust the orthotics according to the 3D data of every child in different stages, thus making the long process of rectification easier.
Zhou Dawei, an expert on artificial limb making, said that Rodin4D is more suitable for making artificial limbs than 3D printing for several reasons. 3D printing needs at least 20 hours to make one artificial limb, but Rodin4D needs only 40 minutes; 3D printing can only use nylon, but Rodin4D can adapt to more firm materials with high elasticity; and the biggest advantage of Rodin4D is that it overcomes the defect of 3D printing that the printed limb cannot be adjusted.
