By 2040, more than a quarter of the U.S. population will have diagnosed arthritic conditions. Adults with arthritis and other rheumatic conditions earn less than average yet have medical care expenditures that are over 12% of average household income. Adaptive aids can help arthritis patients continue to maintain independence and quality of life; however, their high costs limit accessibility for older people and the poor. One method used for consumer price reduction is distributed manufacturing with 3-D printers. In order to assess if such a method would be financially beneficial, this study evaluates the techno-economic viability of distributed manufacturing of adaptive aids for arthritis patients. Twenty freely accessible designs for 3-D printable adaptive aids were successfully fabricated on low-cost desktop 3-D printers and performed their functions adequately. The financial savings averaged >94% compared to commercially-available products. Overall, twenty adaptive aids were printed for US$20 of plastic; while on average, each adaptive aid would save over US$20. As printing a tiny subset of the adaptive aids needed by a single patient would recover the full capital and operational costs of a low-cost 3-D printer, it can be concluded that there is considerable potential for distributed manufacturing to assist arthritis patients.
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- Direct link to video summary[2]
Keywords[edit | edit source]
distributed manufacturing; additive manufacturing; 3-D printing; consumer; economics; open-source; arthritis; adaptive aid; economics; motor skills; person–environment interaction; cost-effective
Gallery[edit | edit source]
Click on the hyperlink below the image to download the stl for printing and the CAD for customization.
- Arthritis Adaptive Aid
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See also[edit | edit source]
- Emergence of Home Manufacturing in the Developed World: Return on Investment for Open-Source 3-D Printers
- Life-cycle economic analysis of distributed manufacturing with open-source 3-D printers
- Distributed Manufacturing of Flexible Products- Technical Feasibility and Economic Viability
- Impact of DIY Home Manufacturing with 3D Printing on the Toy and Game Market
- Quantifying the Value of Open Source Hardware Development
- Open-source, self-replicating 3-D printer factory for small-business manufacturing
- Distributed manufacturing with 3-D printing: a case study of recreational vehicle solar photovoltaic mounting systems
- Global value chains from a 3D printing perspective
- Additively Manufactured Parametric Universal Clip-System: An Open Source Approach for Aiding Personal Exposure Measurement in the Breathing Zone
- Economic Impact of DIY Home Manufacturing of Consumer Products with Low-cost 3D Printing from Free and Open Source Designs
- Leveraging Open Source Development Value to Increase Freedom of Movement of Highly Qualified Personnel
Other aids[edit | edit source]
- https://www.pinterest.com/pin/565272190720481686
- https://www.pinterest.com/couragekennyAT/
- https://thisables.com/en/
- http://web.archive.org/web/20201130173356/https://www.marchofdimes.ca/EN/programs/Designability/Pages/Designability.aspx (making them)
In the News[edit | edit source]
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- 3D-printed adaptive aids for arthritis patients Medical View
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- Long Room
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