Overview
This was my first real job out of college, beginning my not-so-typical path to user experience design. During a typical day at 3D, I would worked with engineers to design a family of splints, jigs and guides used by surgeons in the operating room. Engineers virtually planned operations with surgeons, providing me with design specifications. It was an incredible experience. I got to work with the best surgeons, engineers, and 3D printing experts in the world. Every day I printed incredibly detailed and useful tools on industrial SLA printers. How cool is that?
Surgeons and Patients
Maxillofacial surgery is difficult, delicate, and more common than you might think. Surgeons want the very best tools for their patients; this is where 3D Systems Medical found their niche. I primarily served surgeons who specialized patients with cleft palates, facial injuries, and all sorts of jaw issues.
My Role
I designed whatever surgeons needed; whether that was a split to hold anatomy in position, guides for plates and screws, or anatomical models of injured patients. My purpose was to enhance, aid and improve precision of procedures. I mostly operated in Geomagics Freeform, using a haptic sculpting device. A significant part of my responsibility was designing safe, easily printed parts. I was responsible for batching, loading, printing and quality control checking my designs.
Hacking the Process
I was lucky enough to join the team at 3D right as a co-worker in my department was revolutionizing the workflow. My co-worker had written a script to automatically create patient reports in InDesign. While he tweaked the code, I tried to break it. Together we developed an automated script that could put together a mostly automated PDF, unique to each patient. We also developed a python script designed to automate the 3D design of basic splints. With minimal user input, the script could import patient anatomy (CT scan data) and export .stl files to print. Our proof of concept project never went into production (due to the need for FDA and HIPPA validation), however it prompted 3D Systems to seriously look at automation in the space.
